Concourse-Central Park West Local·6th Avenue-Brighton Express
The B train is a NYC Subway Line that operates currently during Weekdays only (between approximately 6:00am and 10:00pm) between Brighton Beach in Brooklyn and 145 Street in Manhattan. During Rush hours (6:00am to 9:00am and 4:00pm to 7:00pm) trains are extended to Bedford Park Blvd in the Bronx. B trains operate local along the Concourse Line and Central Park West before becoming an express train along the 6 Avenue and Brighton Lines.
The current B train route has existed in its current form since north side of the Manhattan Bridge reopened in 2004. Historically (and until 1998), under the original IND naming scheme ‘B’ was supposed to indicate a train operating from the Washington Heights Line and down 6th Avenue with the southern terminus based on passenger demand. This was how the first BB service operated, as a rush hour only subway line between 34 Street-Herald Square and 168 Street-Washington Heights when the 6 Avenue Subway line opened on December 15, 1940.
The Chrystie Street connection opened in 1967. The BB train was renamed the B train and became a more substantial line extended south to Coney Island via the West End Line, becoming an Express service for the first time along the 6 Avenue, and the 4 Avenue subways. Service to 168 Street continued to only operate during rush hours with trains terminating at West 4th Street during middays, and Saturdays until the new 57 Sreet-6 Avenue terminal opened in 1968 when off-peak B trains were extended there (with only rush hour service to and from 168 Street). From 1976 until 1986, rush hour B train service was split with trains alternating between terminating at 57 Street and continuing up the Central Park West Line to 168 Street.
From 1986 to 1988, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed, and the Orange B train was restored to its original routing from 168 Street to 34 Street-Herald Square during rush hours. A separate Yellow B train operated (along what was like the routing of the W train between 2000 and 2004) between Coney Island and Astoria-Ditmas Blvd during rush hours, Queensboro Plaza at other times.
With the reopening of the North Side of the Manhattan Bridge in 1988, B trains resumed their service to Coney Island via the West End Line, now running to 168 Street during weekdays and to 57 Street (extended to 21 Street-Queensbridge in 1989 when that extension opened) during weekends, with shuttle service between 36 Street and Coney Island during late nights.
This service pattern existed until March 1, 1998 when the historical route patterns in Northern Manhattan of the IND were completely eliminated with B and C trains switching northern terminals in an attempt to simplify C train service (at the time it had 3 different northern terminals depending upon the time of day) and yard assignments. This also caused the extension of the B train to the Bronx for the first time. On this date, B trains began operating from Bedford Park Blvd during rush hours, 145 Street during middays, 57 Street-6 Avenue (train service to and from 21 Street Queensbridge was replaced by a special S shuttle train from February 22, 1998 to May 22, 1999) during evenings and weekends and shuttle service Pacific Street during late nights to Coney Island.
B trains began running to and from 145 Street at all times except late nights starting on November 9, 2000, taken off of the 63 Street line for signal and track work. This service change lasted only until July 22, 2001 when the northside of the Manhattan Bridge was closed again, and is the only time in the history of the B train it’s operated along Central Park West during weekends.
The closure of the north side of the Manhattan Bridge in 2001, resulted in W trains entering service for the first time. W trains, replaced B trains in Brooklyn and B trains reverted to a weekdays only local train service from 34 Street-Herald Square to 145 Street, extended to Bedford Park Blvd during rush hours.
In 2004 the Manhattan Bridge reopened, and the MTA made significant changes to the B and D train’s historical terminals in Brooklyn to simplify service and bring 24-hour service to and from Manhattan to the West End line for the first time. Historically Brighton Line express service has operated during weekdays only so this was combined with the weekdays only 6th Avenue to Central Park West local service and became the new B train, and the B train received the routing it operates to this day, operating weekdays only.
As a supplemental subway line that shares all its stations with other subway lines, the B train is one of the first liens to be suspended because of track work or other operational needs. Due to a lack of crew availability due to the COVID-19 pandemic B trains didn’t operate from March 2020 to June 8, 2020, and again from December 30, 2021, to January 19, 2022.
For Rolling Stock, B trains operate entirely with R68As trains based out of the Coney Island yard, with some trains laying over at the Concourse Yard. Historically B trains operated using R40 Slant cars in the 1990s and standing, looking out the low front window of B trains (I grew up in Washington Heights) are some of my fondest early subway memories. In the mid-1990s (around 1995) B trains began operating with R68s with the R40 Slants swapped onto the Q train, this continued until the Manhattan Bridge reopened again in 2004 when R40 Slants (and some R40M trains) returned to the B train (as a weekday only part time route, the W train received them too) until they were gradually removed with the last R40 Slant train operating in 2009. As the R40s were removed from service B trains received hand-me-down R68s that at the time were operating on the N and Q trains as those lines received new technology R160 trains.
