Jamaica–Van Wyck station

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 Jamaica–Van Wyck
 "E" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Station platform
Station statistics
AddressWest side of Van Wyck Expressway between Metropolitan Avenue & 89th Avenue
Queens, New York
BoroughQueens
LocaleKew Gardens, Richmond Hill
Coordinates40°42′07″N 73°49′00″W / 40.701905°N 73.81656°W / 40.701905; -73.81656
DivisionB (IND)[1]
LineIND Archer Avenue Line
Services   E all times (all times)
Transit
StructureUnderground
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedDecember 11, 1988; 35 years ago (1988-12-11)
AccessibleThis station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		Yes
Traffic
20231,010,728[3] Increase 11.4%
Rank291 out of 423[3]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike
E weekdays until 9:00 p.m.
toward World Trade Center
 Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport
E all times
toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer
Briarwood
E nights after 9:00 p.m. and weekends
local
Location
Jamaica–Van Wyck station is located in New York City Subway
Jamaica–Van Wyck station
Jamaica–Van Wyck station is located in New York City
Jamaica–Van Wyck station
Jamaica–Van Wyck station is located in New York
Jamaica–Van Wyck station
Track layout

Legend
to Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport
to
Briarwood or
Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike
Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops weekdays during the day Stops weekdays during the day
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends

The Jamaica–Van Wyck station (/væn ˈwɪk/ van WIK)[4] is a station on the IND Archer Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located on the west side of the Van Wyck Expressway between Metropolitan Avenue and 89th Avenue on the border of Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, Queens. It is served by the E train at all times.

History

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Planning and opening

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The station's mezzanine, located above the platform.

The plans for the Archer Avenue Lines emerged in the 1960s under the city and MTA's Program for Action.[5] It was conceived as an expansion of IND Queens Boulevard Line service to a "Southeast Queens" line along the right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Branch towards Locust Manor, and as a replacement for the dilapidated eastern portions of the elevated BMT Jamaica Line within the Jamaica business district which business owners and residents sought removal of. Both lines would meet at the double-decked line under Archer Avenue. The two-track spur from the Queens Boulevard Line would use the original Van Wyck Boulevard bellmouths.[6][7][8][5] The IND line was to continue as a two-track line along the LIRR Atlantic Branch. It would have run through Locust Manor and Laurelton stations, with stops at Sutphin Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard (which was called Standard Place in planning documents), Linden Boulevard, Baisley Boulevard, and Springfield Boulevard.[9]

Design on the station began on October 1, 1974, and was completed on August 18, 1982, by MLA/Brodsky.[10]: 15  Construction on Section 7 of Route 131D, the Southeast Queens Line, which included the Jamaica–Van Wyck station started on October 17, 1979. At this point, the segment of the Archer Avenue Line under the Van Wyck Expressway had been completed.[11] Because of the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, the Archer Avenue Line was never fully built to Springfield Boulevard, and was instead truncated to Parsons Boulevard. The shortened version of the line contained three stations, including Jamaica–Van Wyck, and was 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[12] Bids for the station project were received on December 3, 1982, and the project was awarded to Carlin Construction & Development Corporation for $12.781 million. Work on the station began on December 15, 1982.[10]: 15  The station opened along with the rest of the Archer Avenue Line on December 11, 1988.[13][12] It serves as the replacement for the former Metropolitan Avenue and Queens Boulevard stations of the BMT Jamaica Line.

Later years

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To save energy, the MTA installed variable-speed escalators at Jamaica–Van Wyck and three other subway stations in August 2008,[14] although not all of the escalators initially functioned as intended.[15]

In 2020, the MTA announced that it would reconstruct the track and third rail on the IND Archer Avenue Line, which had become deteriorated. From September 19 to November 2, 2020, E service was cut back to Jamaica–Van Wyck, with a shuttle bus connecting to Sutphin Boulevard and Jamaica Center.[16][17] The station was cleaned and repaired in 2024 as part of the MTA's Re-New-Vation program.[18]

Station layout

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Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Mezzanine Mezzanine Fare control, station agents
Disabled access Elevator at corner of 89th Avenue and Van Wyck Expressway south service road, adjacent to Jamaica Hospital
Platform level Inbound[note 1] ← "E" train toward World Trade Center (Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike weekdays, Briarwood evenings/nights/weekends)
Island platform Disabled access
Outbound[note 2] → "E" train toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport) →

This underground station has two tracks and a 600-foot-long (180 m) island platform.[11][19] As planned, the island platform was to be 25 feet (7.6 m) wide.[20] The E stops here at all times.[21] The next stop to the west is Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike on weekdays during the day and Briarwood at other times. The next stop to the east is Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport.[22] As with other stations constructed as part of the Program for Action, the Jamaica–Van Wyck station contained technologically advanced features such as air-cooling, noise insulation, CCTV monitors, public announcement systems, electronic platform signage, and escalator and elevator entrances.[20] This station has five escalators and two elevators.[10]: 15 

The track walls are mostly orange. The mezzanine is suspended above the Jamaica-bound track via heavy cables linked to the station roof. On the Manhattan-bound side, the station walls contain spaces for skylights to allow natural sunlight in,[20] but they are currently covered over.

North (railroad south) of the station, the tracks lead trains to the IND Queens Boulevard Line, where they either switch to the line's local or express tracks depending on the time of day.[19]

Exits

[edit]
Metropolitan Avenue entrance photographed in 2011

The Jamaica–Van Wyck station has two entrances.[11] One entrance is at the southwest corner of Van Wyck Expressway and 89th Avenue next to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. This contains two escalators, an elevator, and one stair to street level. The other entrance is at Metropolitan Avenue and Jamaica Avenue, and contains one up-only escalator and a street stair. Two escalators and one staircase connect the platform with the mezzanine.[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ This track is actually for trains going compass northbound, but its railroad direction is southbound.
  2. ^ This track is actually for trains going compass southbound, but its railroad direction is northbound.

References

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  1. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Queens Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (May 26, 2011). "Stuck on the Van Wyck Expressway? Just Try to Pronounce It". The New York Times. p. A28. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York. New York. November 7, 1967. Retrieved October 1, 2015 – via Internet archive.
  6. ^ Burks, Edward C. (October 24, 1973). "Work Begun on Queens Subway Extension" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  7. ^ nycsubway.org—The 1968 MTA "Program for Action"
  8. ^ Dembart, Lee (September 9, 1977). "A Sentimental Journey on the BMT..." (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "1.bp.blogspot.com/-KeE0zA-o9eQ/UkwMlD5iQgI/AAAAAAAACtM/rJZIo37CvK8/s640/southwest_route.jpg".
  10. ^ a b c "Archer Avenue Extension Ceremony 1988". New York City Transit Authority. December 1988. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. ^ a b c "New Subway Line" (PDF). Glendale Register. October 25, 1979. p. 11. Retrieved July 25, 2016 – via fultonhistory.com.
  12. ^ a b Johnson, Kirk (December 9, 1988). "Big Changes For Subways Are to Begin". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  13. ^ Anders, Marjorie; Associated Press (December 11, 1988). "Subways get biggest change since 1904" (PDF). Nyack Journal News. p. I1. Retrieved July 25, 2016 – via fultonhistory.com.
  14. ^ Chan, Sewell (August 6, 2008). "M.T.A. Rolls Out Escalators With Conservation Features". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Chan, Sewell (August 11, 2008). "Bumpy Start for 'Green' Subway Escalators". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Press Release - NYC Transit - MTA to Perform Critical Track Replacement Work at End of E Line in Queens Next Month". MTA. August 17, 2020. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  17. ^ Pozarycki, Robert (August 28, 2020). "Two Queens meetings on major track work at end of E line in Jamaica". amNewYork. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  18. ^ Parry, Bill (April 8, 2024). "Two Southeast Queens subway stations receive much-needed upgrades: MTA – QNS.com". QNS.com. Retrieved April 8, 2024; "MTA Renovates 2 More Stations Under Re-NEW-vation Program". Railway Track and Structures. April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  20. ^ a b c Burks, Edward C. (August 7, 1976). "New York Improving Subways, But Still Trails Foreign Cities". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  21. ^ "E Subway Timetable, Effective April 1, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  22. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Jamaica—Van Wyck Neighborhood Map". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
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