Jamaica – 179th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

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Jamaica – 179th Street
NYCS-bull-trans-E.svg NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg
New York City Subway rapid transit station
300px
Southbound platform. An R160 F train is visible on the southbound local track.
Station statistics
Address 179th Street & Hillside Avenue
Queens, NY 11432
Borough Queens
Locale Jamaica, Jamaica Estates
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Division B (IND)
Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services       E rush hours (rush hours)
      F all times (all times)
Transit connections Bus transport NYCT Bus: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q17, Q36, Q43, Q76, Q77, X68
Bus transport MTA Bus: Q110
Bus transport NICE Bus: n1, n6, n22, n22A, n24, n26
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 4
Other information
Opened December 11, 1950; 73 years ago (1950-12-11)[1][2]
Accessible Handicapped/disabled access
Wireless service Wi-Fi[3][4]
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 6,898,938[5] Increase 1.2%
Rank 63
Station succession
Next north (Terminal): E rush hours F all times
Next south 169th Street (local): F all times
Parsons Boulevard (express): E rush hours
Next Handicapped/disabled access north none: E rush hours F all times
Next Handicapped/disabled access south Kew Gardens – Union Turnpike: E rush hours F all times

Jamaica – 179th Street is an express terminal station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, it serves as the northern terminal for the F at all times and a few rush hour E trains. Two of the entrances are located on the corners of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway in Jamaica Estates, with a total of 15 entrances to the station.

History

File:Jamaica-179th Street; Orange & Blue Stripes.JPG
View across the platform showing the intertwined wall design

By April 1937, the IND Queens Boulevard Line had been extended up to 169th Street.[6][7] The 179th Street station (drawn up as 178th Street) had been planned to open around the same time as the rest of the line,[8][9] with tail tracks and switches installed up to the foot of the station at 178th Street,[10][11] but construction had been delayed due to the onset of the Great Depression. When the station plans were revisited in the early 1940s, construction was delayed again due to the onset of World War II.[1] Construction of the station began after the war on May 5, 1946.[1][12][13]

The station opened on December 11, 1950.[1][14] It was the last subway station whose construction was funded by New York City, until the construction of the 34th Street – Hudson Yards station on the 7 Subway Extension beginning in 2008.[15] Upon opening, the station became a major transit hub for passengers from south and east Queens and Nassau County, and led to increased development in Jamaica.[13]

In the 1980s, the station was renovated and modernized.[16][17] The IND-style purple tile band was removed from the station walls, and a design with intertwining blue and orange stripes was added.

Until 1988, 179th Street served as the full-time northern terminal for both Queens Boulevard express services (the E and F trains), which led to congestion at the station.[18] On December 11, 1988, the E service was rerouted to the Archer Avenue Subway.[18] The R was extended full-time to the station to provide additional service until 1990.[19]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
Handicapped/disabled access (Elevator at SE corner of 179th Place and Hillside Avenue)
P
Platform level		 Track 1 ← NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (boarding passengers only) (169th Street)
Island platform, doors will open on the left, right Handicapped/disabled access
Track 3 ← NYCS-bull-trans-E.svg toward World Trade Center (boarding passengers, rush hours only) (Parsons Boulevard)
← NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue (boarding passengers only) (169th Street)
Track 2 → NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg (NYCS-bull-trans-E.svg rush hours) termination track →
Island platform, doors will open on the left, right Handicapped/disabled access
Track 4 → NYCS-bull-trans-F.svg termination track →
File:179 Street (R46).jpg
A R46 F train, seen from the termination platform

This underground station looks like a typical express station, with four tracks and two island platforms. To the east (railroad north) is a large storage and relay yard consisting of two levels with four relay tracks each extending out to 185th Street.[10][12][20] This total of eight storage tracks gives 179th Street the highest peak terminal capacity of any station in the New York City Subway: 63 trains per hour, or one train every 57 seconds, although the station currently operates at a far lower throughput (only 20 trains per hour during peak hours). Terminating trains enter on one of the two northbound tracks, then relay to one of the two levels—the upper level if coming from the express track, or the lower level if coming from the local track. They then return on the corresponding track on the southbound side. The few E trains that begin here always leave from the express track and run express along Hillside Avenue; F trains may leave from either track, switching to the local track east of 169th Street if necessary.

The configuration of the relay tracks is evidence of the original plans to build an extension of the Queens Boulevard Line further east into Queens. The line would have continued under Hillside Avenue to Springfield Boulevard and Braddock Avenue (formerly Rocky Hill Road) in Queens Village,[8] with later plans to extend the line to Little Neck Parkway in Bellerose near the Nassau County border.[21] The upper level was to be extended eastward while the lower level tracks were always intended to be relay tracks. The tracks on the upper level are longer than the lower level tracks and the upper level tracks have a wooden partition at the bumper blocks.

The station has beige wall tiles with intertwining blue and orange stripes, representing the two colors of the New York City flag, and the colors of the IND Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue lines which serve the station. There are two fare control areas, one full-time between 179th and 180th Streets and one part-time at 178th Street. The two are connected by a full-length mezzanine, which features Our Spectrum of Support artwork by Reginald Polynice, a set of plywood cutout figures appearing to hold up the ceiling of the mezzanine. The station also features a control tower.[1] The station is ADA-accessible via an elevator installed at 179th Place on the north side of Hillside Avenue.[22][23]

The station lies about 3.25 miles (5.23 km) west of the city's border with Nassau County. Until the IND Rockaway Line was opened in 1956, and its Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue terminal was opened in 1958, 179th Street was the closest subway station to Nassau County.[24][25]

Entrances and exits

File:179th Street - Northside Stairs.jpg
Stairs at 179th Place

The station has a total of 15 staircase entrances and 1 elevator entrance.[22][23]

Exit location Exit type Number of exits
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and 178th Street Staircase 1
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 178th Street Staircase 1
North side of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 2
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 1
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Street Staircase 1
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Place Staircase 2
SE corner of Hillside Avenue and 179th Place Staircase 3
Elevator 1
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 180th Street Staircase 1
NW corner of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway Staircase 1
NE corner of Hillside Avenue and Midland Parkway Staircase 1
SW corner of Hillside Avenue and 181st Street Staircase 1

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ NYC Subway Wireless
  4. ↑ More Subway Stations in Manhattan, Bronx in Line to Get Online, mta.info (March 25, 2015). "The first two phases included stations in Midtown Manhattan and all underground stations in Queens with the exception of the 7 Main St terminal."
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

File:Weekend work 2012-09-04 24 (7929850270).jpg
The western end of the lower relay yard. Ramps can be seen going up to platform level.
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