On this date 25 years ago (well, technically late last night, but whatever), the Archer Avenue line opened for service. Jamaica-Van Wyck Blvd through Jamaica Center-Parsons Blvd were the first stations to open since 57 St/6 Av opened in July 1968. Part of the 1968 Program for Action, which called for several new subway lines, the opening of this line was the severely reduced realization of that vision. As most here already know, both levels of the Archer Avenue subway were to extend further into eastern Queens, but lack of funds and political pressure put a stop to that. Another tidbit is the fact the stations on both levels were ready for service in the early to mid-1980s, but lacked connections to the Queens Boulevard and Jamaica lines.
The opening of the Archer Avenue line did and does have its benefits however. It led to the creation of the Z-line and the implementation of the Jamaica skip-stop in its current form. (Previous versions of the skip-stop service ran when the line went from 168 St-Jamaica to Broad St.) Also, it eliminated the overcrowding issues on the Hillside Avenue line, especially at 169 St and 179 St. Primarily because some of the many bus lines serving those stations were rerouted to serve the new Jamaica Center station.
Here are some photos of the line (all courtesy of nycsubway.org).
Jamaica Center-Parsons Blvd
R30 8393 on the J line
Jamaica Center-Parsons Blvd (BMT Archer Avenue Line)
Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
Jamaica-Van Wyck (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
R32 3574 on the E line
Jamaica-Van Wyck (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
By: Wayne Whitehome
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Silver Anniversary for Archer Avenue
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