Quantcast
Newspaper cover

Flip through
today’s papers
Newspaper cover

Flip through
today’s papers
NYC Transit

J train facts and figures, Jamaica Line history

By Posted on
  • The MTA estimates that 200,000 people ride the J train every day, which means about 73 million ride it in a year.
    Photo Credit: Nicole Brown
  • The Jamaica Line is 13.29 miles long, the MTA said. It has 30 stations in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. In Queens, it terminates at Jamaica Center Parsons/Archer, and in Manhattan it ends at Broad Street.
    Photo Credit: Nicole Brown
  • The actual shade of brown that signifies the J and Z line is known as
    Photo Credit: Nicole Brown
  • In 1888, the Jamaica Line was extended west toward the East River. Driggs Avenue and Broadway Ferry were the two stations past Marcy Avenue. At the time the access to the river was crucial.

    “The waterfront was very important for communication,” Cunningham said.

    When the Williamsburg Bridge was built and the line was extended across it in 1908, only a shuttle train connected Marcy Avenue and the Broadway Ferry station. The shuttle closed in 1916, and in 1942, the stations and tracks past Marcy Avenue were demolished. You can still see some evidence of the track though. Looking toward the river, to the left of the curve toward the bridge, above Broadway and just past Havemeyer Street, some of the original structure remains. The structure is lighter in weight than modern structures, Cunningham said.

    ” data-id=”111804532″ data-link=”https://amnewyork.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/15185_image.jpg” class=”wp-image-1.11804532″/>

    Photo Credit: New York Transit Museum; Nicole Brown
  • The Jamaica Line extended across the Williamsburg Bridge in 1908 to Essex Street in Manhattan. It was then extended to Chambers Street in 1913, and later to Broad Street in 1931. Between Essex Street and Broad Street, the line is known as the Nassau Street Line.
    Photo Credit: Nicole Brown
  • The S curve at Crescent Street is one of the sharpest curves in the subway system. In 1922, the curve had to be eased to allow the heavier 67-feet steel subway cars to run on the tracks instead of the 48-feet El cars.
    Photo Credit: Nicole Brown

The J train, traveling along the Jamaica Line in Brooklyn and Queens and the Nassau Street Line in Manhattan, has a history that many commuters may not realize. Some of the elevated tracks in Brooklyn that the J train serves are considered the oldest remaining elevated train routes in the world, first opening in the 1880s. It also has one of the sharpest curves in the subway system.

Scroll down for more facts and history of the J train.

About the Author

More in NYC Transit

More from around NYC