Editing IRT Flushing Line (section)

==Extent and service==

===Route===
{{stack|float=left|
[[File:Qns blvd 39st jeh.JPG|left|thumb|Queens Boulevard viaduct]]
[[File:NYCSub 7 Grand Central.jpg|thumb|left|Grand Central deep vault]]
}}
Services that use the Flushing Line are colored {{NYCS const|color|purple}}. The following services use part or all of the IRT Flushing Line:<ref>{{NYCS const|serviceguide}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan=2|Service
!colspan=2|Time period
|-
!Rush hours,<br />peak direction
!Other times
|-
|{{rint|newyork|7}} Local
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Full line
|-
|{{rint|newyork|7d}} Express
|align=center|Full line
|align=center|No service
|}
The line has two distinct sections, split by the [[Queensboro Plaza (IRT Flushing Line)|Queensboro Plaza]] station. It begins as a three-track subway, with the center track used for express service, at [[Flushing–Main Street (IRT Flushing Line)|Flushing–Main Street]].<ref name="tracks">{{NYCS const|trackref|trackbook3}}</ref> It quickly leaves the ground onto a [[steel]] [[elevated railway|elevated structure]] above Roosevelt Avenue, passing [[Citi Field]] and the [[United States Tennis Association]]'s [[USTA National Tennis Center|National Tennis Center]]. A [[flying junction]] between [[Mets–Willets Point (IRT Flushing Line)|Mets–Willets Point]] and [[111th Street (IRT Flushing Line)|111th Street]] provides access to the [[Corona Yard]] from the local tracks.<ref name="trackbook">{{NYCS const|trackref|trackbook}}</ref> At 48th Street in [[Sunnyside, Queens|Sunnyside]], the line switches to [[Queens Boulevard]] and an ornate [[concrete viaduct]] begins. The express track ends between [[33rd Street–Rawson Street (IRT Flushing Line)|33rd Street–Rawson Street]] and Queensboro Plaza.<ref name="tracks" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://accessqueens.org/couch/uploads/file/4-5-16-askthemta_7train_presesentation.pdf|title=Flushing Line 2016 Town Hall April 5, 2016 Sunnyside, Queens|date=April 5, 2016|website=Access Queens|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

At Queensboro Plaza, the eastbound track ([[railroad directions|railroad north]]) is above the westbound track, with both tracks on the south side of the island platforms. On the north side of these platforms is the [[BMT Astoria Line]]. East of this point, both the Flushing Line and the Astoria Line were formerly operated by the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|IRT]] and the [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation|BMT]]. Connections still exist between the eastbound tracks just east of the platforms, but cannot be used for revenue service as BMT trains are wider than IRT trains. This is the only track connection between the Flushing Line and the rest of the subway system.<ref name="tracks" /><ref name=":2" />

West of Queensboro Plaza, the line sharply turns south onto an elevated structure over 23rd Street. It heads into the west end of [[Amtrak]]'s [[Sunnyside Yard]], and passes through two underground stations before entering [[Manhattan]] via the [[Steinway Tunnel]] under the [[East River]]. In Manhattan, the line runs under [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]], with part directly underneath the [[42nd Street Shuttle]] ({{NYCS trains|42nd}}), before angling towards 41st Street. The [[Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal (New York City Subway)|Times Square–42nd Street]] station, with no track connections to other lines, is directly under 41st Street.<ref name="tracks" />

West of Times Square, the tracks curve sharply downward before turning under [[11th Avenue (Manhattan)|11th Avenue]]. The tracks end at 24th Street, even though the last station is at [[34th Street–Hudson Yards (IRT Flushing Line)|34th Street]].<ref name="tracks" /><ref>{{NYCS const|trackref|469}}</ref> This segment was built as part of the [[7 Subway Extension|extension of the Flushing Line]] west to Manhattan's Far West Side (see {{section link||Extension westward}}).<ref name=NYTimes-Station-Opens-2015/> A decommissioned lower level at the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]]'s [[42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal]] station formerly blocked the way.<ref>{{Cite news |title=No Whoosh, No 'All Aboard' |first=Alex |last=Mindlin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/nyregion/thecity/20port.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 20, 2008 |access-date=February 28, 2010}}</ref> Although London ultimately received the bid for the [[2012 Summer Olympics]], New York City pursued the extension anyway, albeit as a means to enable the redevelopment of the far West Side under the [[Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project]].<ref name="olympic2012-won"/>

{{wide image|Linea IRT Flushing.png|600px|Overview of the IRT Flushing Line}}

===Distinctions===
The Flushing Line is one of only two New York City non-[[S (New York City Subway service)|shuttle]] subway lines that hosts only a single service and does not share operating trackage with any other line or service; the other is the [[BMT Canarsie Line]], carrying the {{NYCS|L}} train. Because of this, the MTA is [[Signaling of the New York City Subway#Automation|automating the line]] with new trains using [[communication-based train control]] (CBTC), similar to the Canarsie Line (see {{Section link||Automation of the line}}).<ref name=page11/>

The IRT Flushing Line's 7 service has the distinction of running trains with the largest number of cars in the New York City Subway. 7 trains are eleven cars long; most other New York City Subway services run ten or eight-car trains. The trains are not the longest by total length, however. An IND/BMT train of ten {{convert|60|ft|adj=on}}-long cars or eight {{convert|75|ft|adj=on}}-long cars, which is {{convert|600|ft}} long, is still {{convert|35|ft|m}} longer than an IRT train of eleven {{convert|51.4|ft|adj=on}}-long cars, which is {{convert|565|ft}} long.<ref name="tracks" />