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Broadway Local

Ditmars Boulevard to Whitehall Street

The W Broadway Local is a rapid transit service of B Division of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign and on station signs and the subway map, as it is a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through midtown Manhattan. The W, which runs weekdays only from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (6:00 to 21:50), is an entirely local service, stretching the length of the BMT Astoria Line and Broadway Line from Ditmars Boulevard–Astoria in Astoria, Queens south to Whithall Street–South Ferry in Lower Manhattan. The first three trains however enter service at Gravesend-86th Street and the last three trains of the night continue in service to Kings Highway. These trips run local in Brooklyn. ^[1] The service passes under the East River in the 60th Street Tunnel.^[2]

The W fleet consists of R40s, R40Ms, R68s, and R68As.

Whitehall Street-bound W train of R68As at 28th Street

Queens-bound W train of R40s at 34th Street-Herald Square

The W was introduced on July 22, 2001, when the Manhattan Bridge north tracks were closed for reconstruction. The B had run full-time from Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue to Manhattan via the BMT West End Line and north tracks onto the IND Sixth Avenue Line, but had to be split in 2001. A similar split had been made from 1986 to 1988, when a part-time orange diamond B ran only north of 34th Street, and a full-time (though only in Brooklyn at nights) yellow B ran from Coney Island across the south side of the bridge and up the BMT Broadway Line into Queens. This old pattern was effectively restored in 2001, but instead of having two B services, the Brooklyn service became the W. This route began at Coney Island and ran up the West End Line (local), BMT Fourth Avenue Line (express), Manhattan Bridge south tracks, Broadway Line (express, switching to local for 49th Street), and BMT Astoria Line (express during rush hours in the peak direction) to Ditmars Boulevard–Astoria. Evening service ended at 57th Street in Manhattan (using the express tracks and bypassing 49th Street), late night service at 36th Street in Brooklyn, and weekend service at Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street in Brooklyn [1].

After September 11, 2001, N service was suspended. W trains ran at all times between Ditmars Boulevard and Coney Island. It made all local stops except in Brooklyn north of 36th Street. During late nights, it ran in two sections, between Ditmars Boulevard and 34th Street (skipping 49th Street northbound), and in Brooklyn between 36th Street and Coney Island. Normal service resumed on October 28.

The Astoria express service, being unpopular with residents, was discontinued on January 15, 2002; around that time, evening service was extended from 57th Street to Astoria.^[3]

When all Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue was closed for reconstruction, the W became a full time Coney Island-Astoria service. Late night and weekend service was sent via the Montague Street Tunnel and the local tracks of the Fourth Avenue and Broadway Lines; the N was cut back to Brooklyn at those times [2].

When all four tracks on the Manhattan Bridge were restored on February 22, 2004, the W was changed to its current service pattern as a weekday local between Whitehall Street–South Ferry and Astoria. The Brooklyn portion of the W was replaced by the D, which was extended over the north side of the bridge and down the West End Line [3].

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops late nights and weekends only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	Station closed
Time period details

	Station		Subway transfers	Connections and notes
Queens
	Ditmars Boulevard–Astoria		N
	Astoria Boulevard		N	M60 bus to LaGuardia Airport
	30th Avenue		N
	Broadway		N
	36th Avenue		N
	39th Avenue		N
	Queensboro Plaza		N  7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line)
Manhattan
	Lexington Avenue/59th Street		N  R  4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) F  (IND 63rd Street Line at Lexington Avenue; MetroCard-only transfer)	Roosevelt Island Tramway
	Fifth Avenue		N  R
	57th Street		N  Q  R
	49th Street		N  R	Station is accessible in the northbound direction only
	Times Square–42nd Street		N  Q  R  1  2  3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) 7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line) A  C  E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal)	Port Authority Bus Terminal
	34th Street–Herald Square		N  Q  R  B  D  F  V  (IND Sixth Avenue Line)	PATH at 33rd Street Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit at Pennsylvania Station
	28th Street		N  R
	23rd Street		N  R
	14th Street–Union Square		N  Q  R  L  (BMT Canarsie Line) 4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
	Eighth Street		N  R
	Prince Street		N  R
	Canal Street		N  Q  R  4  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) J  M  Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line)
	City Hall		R
	Cortlandt Street			Station closed until further notice due to construction at the World Trade Center site
	Rector Street		R
	Whitehall Street–South Ferry		R	Staten Island Ferry at South Ferry

• Line By Line History

• MTA NYC Transit - W Broadway Local
• MTA NYC Transit - W schedulePDF (147 KiB)