page_title: Archer Avenue lines
section_title: Queens Boulevard Line
hierarchical_section_title: Archer Avenue lines / Service plans / Queens Boulevard Line
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking down at the IND (E train) platform from the western mezzanine of the Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer subway station, under Archer Avenue and 153rd Street in Jamaica Center, Queens.
context_page_description: The Archer Avenue lines are two rapid transit lines of the New York City Subway, mostly running under Archer Avenue in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. The two lines are built on separate levels: trains from the IND Queens Boulevard Line serve the upper level, and trains from the BMT Jamaica Line serve the lower.
  The two lines are separate, and do not share track connections, and therefore have different chainings and radio frequencies. The B2 Archer Avenue line uses the upper level, and the B1 Archer Avenue line uses the lower level.
  These lines were conceived as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 1968 expansion plans, and along with the 63rd Street lines and a small section of the Second Avenue Subway, they were the only portions of the plan to be completed before it was scaled back due to fiscal issues. These lines were originally planned to be extended further east into Queens. Construction on the line started in 1973, and the project was expected to be completed in 1980. However, due to financial issues and concern about the quality of the construction, the lines did not open until December 11, 1988.
context_section_description: The opening of the Archer Avenue line was expected to reroute 17,500 riders from Hillside Avenue to Archer Avenue. Two service plans were identified prior to the February 25, 1988 public hearing. The first would have split rush-hour E service between the two branches, with late night service to 179th Street provided by the R, while the second would have had all E trains run via Archer Avenue and would have extended R locals to 179th Street. A modified version of the second plan was decided upon. When the Archer Avenue line opened in 1988, the E ran to Jamaica Center via the Queens Boulevard Line's express tracks. One E train began at 71st Avenue during the morning rush hour. The R was extended to 179th Street to serve local stations east of 71st Avenue and to allow F trains to continue running express to 179th Street. F trains no longer stopped at 169th Street between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
  The change in the plan was the operation of some E trains from 179th Street as expresses during the morning rush hour to provide an appropriate level of E service to Archer Avenue during the morning rush, to maintain the same level of service to 179th Street while providing express service, and to provide greater choice for riders at the Parsons Boulevard and 179th Street stations on Hillside Avenue. It was decided not to divert some E trains to 179th Street during the afternoon rush hour so that Queens-bound riders would not be confused about where their E train was headed.
  It was decided to serve Archer with the E as opposed to the F to minimize disruption to passengers who continued to use Hillside Avenue, to maximize Jamaica Avenue ridership and the length of the peak ridership period, which is longer on the F. The NYCTA had found that most riders using buses diverted to Archer used the E, while passengers on buses to 179th used the F. Having E trains run local between Continental Avenue and Van Wyck Boulevard was dismissed in order to provide 24 hour express service to the Archer Avenue line.
  By 1992, R service was cut back to 71st–Continental Avenue at all times. In its place, the F ran local between 71st Avenue and 179th Street at all times.
caption: A pair of E trains at Jamaica Center
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