History
When the first subway opened between 1904 and 1908, one of the main service patterns was the West Side Branch, running from Lower Manhattan to Van Cortlandt Park via what is now the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, 42nd Street Shuttle, and IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. Both local and express trains were operated, with express trains using the express tracks south of 96th Street. Express trains ran through to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn during rush hours, while other express trains and all local trains turned around at City Hall or South Ferry.
The first portion of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line south of Times Square – 42nd Street, a shuttle to 34th Street – Penn Station, opened on June 3, 1917. This shuttle was extended south to South Ferry, with a shorter shuttle on the Brooklyn Branch between Chambers Street and Wall Street, on July 1, 1918. Finally, the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.
The local tracks ran to South Ferry, while the express tracks used the Brooklyn Branch to Wall Street, extended into Brooklyn to Atlantic Avenue via the Clark Street Tunnel on April 15, 1919. Extensions of the Eastern Parkway Line and the connecting Nostrand Avenue Line and New Lots Line opened in the next few years, with the end result being that West Side trains ran to Flatbush Avenue or New Lots Avenue.
On February 6, 1959, the 1 train became the West Side local. Previously, 1 trains ran express along the West Side and into Brooklyn, and the 3 was the local service to South Ferry. Since then, 1 train service has remained consistent.
On August 21, 1989, the 1/9 weekday skip-stop service was formed. Skip-stop service operated north of 137th Street – City College.
In 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued. By this time, 1 trains only skipped Marble Hill – 225th, 207th and 145th Streets and 9 trains only skipped 238th, 215th, Dyckman and 157th Streets.
After September 11, 2001, 1 trains had to be rerouted since the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line ran directly under the World Trade Center site and was heavily damaged in the collapse of the Twin Towers. It ran only between 242nd Street and 14th Street, running local north of and express south of 96th Street; the 9 train and skip-stop service were suspended at this time. On September 19, after a few switching delays at 96th Street, service was changed. 1 trains made all local stops from 242nd Street to New Lots Avenue via the Clark Street Tunnel and IRT Eastern Parkway Line, to replace 3 trains, which terminated at 14th Street, at all times except late nights, when it terminated at Chambers Street in Manhattan instead. On September 15, 2002, 1 trains returned to South Ferry and the 9 train and skip-stop service was restored.
On May 27, 2005, the 9 train and skip-stop service was discontinued.
On March 16, 2009, the 1 local via the South Ferry loop was discontinued and a new South Ferry terminal station opened. This was the first new station to open since 1989 when the IND 63rd Street Line stations opened. Both loops at South Ferry remain in service to short-turn trains (such as the 5 train when it doesn't run to Brooklyn), but the platforms are now closed to passengers.
Read more about this topic: Clark Street Tunnel
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