Editing IND Queens Boulevard Line (section)

{{short description|New York City Subway line}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox rail line
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| name                            = IND Queens Boulevard Line
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| image                           = {{rint|nycs|E|size=45}} {{rint|nycs|F|size=45}} {{rint|nycs|Fd|size=45}} {{rint|nycs|M|size=45}} {{rint|nycs|R|size=45}}
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| caption                         = Stations on the IND Queens Boulevard Line<br>are served by [[E (New York City Subway service)|E]], [[F (New York City Subway service)|F]], [[Fd (New York City Subway service)|&lt;F&gt;]], [[M (New York City Subway service)|M]] and [[R (New York City Subway service)|R]] trains.
| type                            = [[Rapid transit]]
| system                          = [[New York City Subway]]
| status                          = 
| locale                          = [[Manhattan]] and [[Queens]], [[New York City]]
| start                           = [[50th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|50th Street]]
| end                             = [[Jamaica–179th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Jamaica–179th Street]]
| stations                        = 25
| routes                          = 
| daily_ridership                 = 256,518 (2022, weekday)<ref name="ridership">{{NYCS const|riderref|weekday}}</ref>
| ridership2                      = 
| open                            = 
| close                           = 
|owner       = [[Government of New York City|City of New York]]
|operator    = [[New York City Transit Authority]]
| character                       = Underground
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| tracks                          = 
| gauge                           = {{track gauge|ussg|al=on}}
| old_gauge                       = 
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| website                         = 
| map                             = {{IND Queens Boulevard Line|inline=1}}
| map_state                       = collapsed
}}
The '''IND Queens Boulevard Line''', sometimes abbreviated as '''QBL''',<ref name=MTA-CapitalOversight-July2015/> is a line of the [[B Division (NYCS)|B Division]] of the [[New York City Subway]] in [[Manhattan]] and [[Queens]], [[New York City]]. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 stations. The core section between [[50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|50th Street]] in [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan]], and [[169th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|169th Street]] in [[Jamaica, Queens]], was built by the [[Independent Subway System]] (IND) in stages between 1933 and 1940, with the [[Jamaica–179th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Jamaica–179th Street]] terminus opening in 1950. {{As of|2015}}, it is among the system's busiest lines, with a weekday ridership of over 460,000 people.

The Queens Boulevard Line's eastern terminus is the four-track 179th Street station. The line continues westward then northwest as a four-track line with the local tracks to the outside of the express tracks. The Queens Boulevard Line merges with the [[Archer Avenue Lines|IND Archer Avenue Line]] east of [[Briarwood (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Briarwood]] and with [[Jamaica Yard]] spurs west of Briarwood and east of [[Forest Hills–71st Avenue (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Forest Hills–71st Avenue]]. The express tracks and the local tracks diverge at [[65th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|65th Street]] in [[Jackson Heights, Queens|Jackson Heights]] and merge again at [[36th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|36th Street]] in [[Sunnyside, Queens|Sunnyside]]. West of 36th Street, the [[IND 63rd Street Line]] splits off both pairs of tracks, entering Manhattan via the [[63rd Street Tunnel]]. At [[Queens Plaza (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Queens Plaza]] in [[Long Island City]], the line narrows to two tracks, with the local tracks splitting into the [[60th Street Tunnel Connection]] and the [[IND Crosstown Line]]. From there, the express tracks of the line provide crosstown service across Manhattan under [[53rd Street (Manhattan)|53rd Street]] before turning southwest at Eighth Avenue, ending at the 50th Street station. The two-track section west of Queens Plaza is also known as the '''IND 53rd Street Line'''.

The Queens Boulevard Line is served by four overlapping routes. The [[E (New York City Subway service)|E]] train serves the section between 50th Street and Briarwood, normally running express. The [[F (New York City Subway service)|F]] runs express from 36th Street to 71st Avenue and local east of 71st Avenue to 179th Street. The [[M (New York City Subway service)|M]] and [[R (New York City Subway service)|R]] serve local stops on the route west of 71st Avenue, with the M diverging from the line west of [[Fifth Avenue/53rd Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Fifth Avenue/53rd Street]] and the R splitting west of Queens Plaza. The E and F serve the line at all times, while the M runs on the line during weekdays only and the R runs on the line at all times except late nights. During evenings and weekends, the E runs local between 71st Avenue and Briarwood, and E and F trains make all local stops west of 71st Avenue during late nights to provide local service along the line. The routes experience frequent overcrowding during weekdays, and the Queens Boulevard Line has among the highest rush-hour train frequencies in the system. A planned upgrade to the line, to replace its signals with a [[communications-based train control]] system, would add capacity to the line.

The line's construction in the 1920s and 1930s promoted housing growth along the [[Queens Boulevard]] corridor and stimulated the urbanization of central Queens. However, there are multiple provisions for spur routes along the Queens Boulevard line that were never built. The most notable of these proposals was the [[IND Second System]], which would have provided a spur to [[Maspeth, Queens|Maspeth]] from the [[Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue]] station; another spur to the [[Rockaway, Queens|Rockaways]] east of [[63rd Drive–Rego Park (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|63rd Drive–Rego Park]] via the [[Rockaway Beach Branch]]; a third spur east of Briarwood along the former [[Interstate 678|Van Wyck Boulevard]] to [[South Ozone Park, Queens|South Ozone Park]]; and an extension of the line eastward past 179th Street. Other proposals included a "super express bypass" that would use the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] of the [[Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)|Long Island Rail Road's Main Line]] to bypass all stations between 36th Street and 71st Avenue, as well as a spur from the [[Woodhaven Boulevard (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Woodhaven Boulevard]] station northeast to [[Queens College, City University of New York|Queens College]] via the [[Interstate 495 (New York)|Long Island Expressway]].