T (Subway service)

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The **T Bloxway Express/Fifth Avenue Local** is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the Diamond City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored teal, since it uses the BRT Fifth Avenue Line in Mantua.

The T operates at all times between 254th Street in Riverdale, Blox, and the World Trade Center in Lower Mantua. Daytime service operates express in the Blox and local in Mantua; late night service makes local stops along its entire route.

The T was originally the Brookville Rapid Transit Company's **6** service, running along the entire BRT Fifth Avenue Line. The 6 became the TT in 1961, denoting its local service. From 1966 to 1973, T service was cut to Spring Street due to ongoing construction on the World Trade Center site. Starting on 2010, all diamond T service would be routed from Cortlandt Street and end at 57th Street with the V in order to better service Mantua's growing population.

## Service History

### Before 1961

The route that is now the T was originally denoted as the BRT's service 6. Introduced alongside the BRT Fifth Avenue Line, it made all local stops between 26th Streets-Madison Square and Cortlandt Street. On March 18, 1933, service was extended to 42nd Street-Cassel Park.

### 1961-1966

With the opening of the Delancey Street Connection, every BRT service would be renamed in order to distinguish the service from the IRT's numbered lines, using a similar letter structure seen on the ISS. Line 6 would now be renamed the TT, running alongside the V and the newly created W service. A T service would be created on 1963 with express service throughout Fifth Avenue, but would later be used to designate TT service to Konijn Island.

### 1966-1973

Demolition on Radio Row and subsequent construction on the World Trade Center would close the TT's Cortlandt Street terminus in order to allow for renovations. Its original 1930s tiling would be replaced with the new tiling seen across several 60s-70s station renovations throughout the DCTA system at the time. During this time, TT service was cut back to Spring Street. Plans were created for the T variant to run via the newly connected Williamsburg Bridge alongside the W, with the DCTA implementing test trips on the route. However, low ridership would ultimately cancel the plan.

### 1973-1985

TT service would return back to Cortlandt Street, resuming regular service along Fifth Avenue and Bloxway.

Starting on May 7th, 1976, TT trains would run express on the ISS Bloxway Line due to increased ridership, switching with the E.

On January 24, 1977, as part of the DCTA's service cuts to save R$13 million, TT trains were decreased from 10 cars to 4 cars. Graffiti-prone trains would be replaced by the newer stainless steel cars, including the R32, R44 and R46 cars. This program would succeed, leading to the restoration of regular TT service.

During the late 70s, several stations on the BRT Fifth Avenue Line were renovated due to deteriorating mosaics and paint seen in the stations. This involved new tiling similar to those seen across the system at the time, most notable at the Cortlandt Street station.

During the 1979 color scheme revision, TT trains would keep their teal signage; it would now represent the entirety of the Fifth Avenue Line, including the V and W.

On May 6, 1985, double letters for local service would be removed, resulting in the TT being renamed to the T. The service continued to use its regular route, with a diamond T replacing the original T with the same terminus; Konijn Island via the V line.

### 1986-2000

With the introduction of the newer R68 and R68A cars from 1986 to 1989, the T's R30s would be retired while its R38s and R44s would be displaced onto other lines to increase reliability across the DCTA system.

On February 26, 1993, an operator would report smoke pouring into the station from the World Trade Center. The Cortlandt Street station would be quickly evacuated, with T train service being suspended between Spring Street and Cortlandt Street until March 1, 1993.

During the 90s, the DCTA would change into the now known Rapid Borough Express (RBX) system, alongside a new program for action. This would address several issues with tracks, infrastructure and especially stations. Local stops on the Fifth Avenue Line were degrading often due to high vandalism in the area, resulting in original tiling being restored and countdown clocks being implemented at these stations. During this time, T and W trains ran express in order to not impact both track and station work.

Throughout January and February 2000, the track switches at the Cortlandt Street-World Trade Center station would be replaced due frequent issues reported by the signal room. T trains would terminate at Spring Street during weekends in order to install new switches.

### 2001-2010

On November 20, 2008, in light of severe budget woes, the RBX announced potential service cuts; this proposed the discontinuation of the diamond T service due to lower ridership. The diamond T ceased operations on Friday, June 25, 2010. All (internally) designated diamond T trips would be cut to Cortlandt Street and be short turned at 57th Street for Mantua riders to have reliable access along the Fifth Avenue Line.

### 2011-Present

From October 22 to November 2, 2012, Hurricane Sandy would severely damage the T train south of Spring Street due to flooding at the World Trade Center, closing the section until August 12, 2013. During this time, all T train service terminated at Spring Street or were rerouted via the W.

## Route

### Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the T, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:

 ISS Bloxway Line (full line)
 BRT Fifth Avenue Line (full line)