Editing IND Queens Boulevard Line (section)

===Program for Action===
When proposed in the mid-1960s under the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]]'s [[Program for Action]], the Archer Avenue and 63rd Street subway lines were two parts of a major planned expansion of Queens Boulevard line service.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /><ref name=NYTimes-NYCS-BigChanges-1988 /> The 63rd Street tunnel would have facilitated service between the Queens Boulevard line and the [[Second Avenue Subway]], via bellmouths west of Roosevelt Island which turn south towards Midtown and Lower Manhattan. These turnouts may be used for the third and fourth phases of the Second Avenue Subway.<ref name=Bypass /><ref name=MTA-SASNorthDiagram>* {{cite web|title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Track Diagram, North of 55th Street|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figure2-04.pdf|website=mta.info|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=August 27, 2015|archive-date=September 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925070641/http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figure2-04.pdf|url-status=live}}
* [http://images.nycsubway.org/maps/2ave-tr.gif 2nd Avenue Subway – Tentative track plan, Manhattan portion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525062419/http://images.nycsubway.org/maps/2ave-tr.gif |date=May 25, 2012 }}, nycsubway.org</ref> The proposed connection to the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch resurfaced, with proposed branch lines along other LIRR lines to outer Queens areas without rapid transit service.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /> Expected to be completed by the mid-1970s and early 1980s,<ref name=NYTimes-ArcherGrndbk-Oct1973/><ref name=NYTimes-QBLExpansion-1971>* {{cite news|title=New Line May Get Double Trackage: Transit Unit Studies Shift on Queens Super-Express|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/02/21/91268536.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 26, 2015|date=February 21, 1971|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135710/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/02/21/91268536.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}
* [http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/progforaction.htm Program for Action maps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630171053/http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/progforaction.htm |date=June 30, 2017 }} from thejoekorner.com
* {{cite web|url=http://secondavenuesagas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/1968expansionlarge.jpg|title=1968 NYCTA Expansion Plans (Picture)|publisher=Second Avenue Sagas|access-date=October 31, 2016|archive-date=October 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009073021/http://secondavenuesagas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/1968expansionlarge.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> these plans (the most important of which are outlined below) were derailed by the [[History of New York City (1946–77)#1970s|1970s fiscal crisis]], which delayed the completion of the Archer Avenue and 63rd Street lines.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /><ref name=NYTimes-NYCS-BigChanges-1988 /><ref name="nyt 200105" />

===="Super-express" line====
[[File:Woodside_platform_jeh.jpg|thumb|left|alt=The Woodside LIRR station|A "super-express" bypass of the line would have had a station built at [[Woodside (LIRR station)|Woodside]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=QBLBypass/>]]
The Archer Avenue and 63rd Street lines were planned to be connected by a "super-express" bypass of the Queens Boulevard line,<ref name="MTA-FGLineReviews" /><ref name=NYTimes-NYCS-BigChanges-1988 /><ref name="NYTimes-QBLExpansion-1971" /> The bypass would have used the outer two of the six trackways of the LIRR [[Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)|Main Line]] (formerly used by the Rockaway Beach Branch), which are currently unused, and would have allowed trains to travel at speeds of up to {{Convert|70|mph|kph|abbr=}}. It would stretch from the 63rd Street Line east of [[21st Street–Queensbridge (IND 63rd Street Line)|21st Street–Queensbridge]], with the possibility of access to the 60th and 53rd Street tunnels. At its east end, it would have left the LIRR right-of-way near Whitepot Junction and ran under Yellowstone Boulevard to the Queens Boulevard Line near [[Forest Hills–71st Avenue (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|71st Avenue]] station. The 71st Avenue station would have been converted into a bi-level or tri-level station, with the super express tracks using the lower level(s) built south of the current station, before rejoining the main line Queens Boulevard tracks.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /><ref name="Bypass">* {{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/metropolitantran00newy/metropolitantran00newy_djvu.txt|title=Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York.|date=November 7, 1967|website=Internet Archive|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 1, 2015}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/1970s-nyc-subway-map-that-never-was-2013-6|title=1970s NYC Subway Map That Never Was – Business Insider|date=June 18, 2013|work=Business Insider|access-date=August 17, 2015|archive-date=July 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724030612/http://www.businessinsider.com/1970s-nyc-subway-map-that-never-was-2013-6|url-status=live}}
* {{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/03/20/86354223.pdf|title=Board Approves Downtown Subway Route and East Side Loop|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|date=March 20, 1970|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 26, 2015|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135711/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/03/20/86354223.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NaI4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA83|title=Queens Subway Options Study, New York: Environmental Impact Statement|date=May 1984|publisher=[[United States Department of Transportation]], [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], [[Urban Mass Transit Administration]]|pages=83–|access-date=July 10, 2016|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135711/https://books.google.com/books?id=NaI4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA83|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-QBLExpansion-1971"/>

There were also plans for an intermediate stop at the current [[Woodside (LIRR station)|Woodside LIRR station]], and an additional 63rd Street line station at [[Northern Boulevard]] adjacent to [[Queens Plaza (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Queens Plaza]]. The bypass and proposed Woodside station would have necessitated the widening of the LIRR Main Line right-of-way onto private property west of [[Winfield Junction (LIRR station)|Winfield Junction]], where the Main Line merges with the [[Port Washington Branch]], and reorganization of the track layout in the [[Sunnyside Yard]]s.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=QBLBypass>* {{cite news|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|title=Shortage of U.S. Funds May Delay Subway Link|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/06/06/76395030.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|date=June 6, 1976|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135711/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/06/06/76395030.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Erlitz|first1=Jeffrey|title=Tech Talk|journal=New York Division Bulletin|date=February 2005|volume=48|issue=2|pages=9–11|url=https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2005-02-bulletin/11|access-date=July 10, 2016|publisher=Electric Railroaders Association|archive-date=August 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816150449/https://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2005-02-bulletin/11|url-status=live}}
* {{cite news|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|title=New Subway Line Delayed 5 or 6 Years|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/07/29/78829669.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|date=July 29, 1976|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007135712/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/07/29/78829669.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Later proposals suggested routing the bypass directly to the Archer Avenue line via the LIRR [[Montauk Branch]] (which no longer has passenger service).<ref name=Bypass/><ref name=NYTimes-63St-TroubledProject-1984/>

While plans to construct the bypass existed as late as 1985, the connection to the Queens Boulevard line at Northern Boulevard was built as an alternative to the bypass.<ref name="nyt 200105" /><ref name="NYTimes-63St-TroubledProject-1984">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/01/nyregion/63d-st-subway-tunnel-more-setbacks-for-a-troubled-project.html|title=63d St. Subway Tunnel: More Setbacks For A Troubled Project|last1=Daley|first1=Suzanne|date=November 1, 1984|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 27, 2015|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010100543/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/01/nyregion/63d-st-subway-tunnel-more-setbacks-for-a-troubled-project.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> A bellmouth was built at the end of the tunnel should construction on the bypass ever commence.<ref name=MTA63rdQBLConnectorTrackMap>{{cite web|title=MTA 63rd Street Connector|url=http://nycsubway.org.s3.amazonaws.com/images/logo/63rdconn.jpg|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=October 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030120053/http://nycsubway.org.s3.amazonaws.com/images/logo/63rdconn.jpg|url-status=live|archive-date=October 30, 2014}}</ref>

====Northeast Queens line====
Another less publicized plan around this time was a branch line diverging from the Queens Boulevard mainline near Woodhaven Boulevard, and running along the [[Long Island Expressway]] (LIE) corridor to [[Kissena Boulevard]] at [[Queens College]], and later to [[Fresh Meadows, Queens|Fresh Meadows]] and [[Bayside, Queens|Bayside]]. This "Northeastern Queens" line, or Route 131-C, would have been built in conjunction with the planned widening of the expressway. The subway tracks would have been placed under the expressway or its service roads, or in the median of a widened LIE in a similar manner to the [[Congress Branch]] of the [[Chicago "L"]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name="Bypass" /><ref name=NYTimes-QBLExpansion-1971 /> The Woodhaven Boulevard station, using existing provisions, would be converted to an express station. Three new stations would have been built during the first phase of the line, at 99th Street near [[LeFrak City]], at [[Main Street (Queens)|Main Street]], and a terminal station at Kissena Boulevard. At Main Street there would have been three tracks, and two island platforms. East of the terminus at [[Kissena Boulevard]], there would have been two levels of layup tracks, allowing for an extension further east.<ref name=":1" /> A similar line along the corridor had been proposed in the 1939 IND Second System plan as an extension of the [[BMT Broadway Line]] east of the [[60th Street Tunnel]], when the road was called Horace Harding Boulevard prior to the construction of the expressway.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /><ref name=IND2ndSystem1939Map />

====Southeast Queens line====
The most important of the proposed lines along LIRR branches was a "Southeast Queens" extension of the Archer Avenue subway along the [[Atlantic Branch|Locust Manor branch]] to [[Springfield Gardens, Queens|Springfield Gardens]], which was the original intention of the Queens Boulevard extension to Archer Avenue. This would have used an existing provision east of [[Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (Archer Avenue Lines)|Jamaica Center]], and necessitated the installation of two dedicated subway tracks, construction of new stations and/or the conversion of existing facilities along the right-of-way.<ref name="Bypass" /><ref name="NYTimes-ArcherGrndbk-Oct1973">{{cite news|last1=Burks|first1=Edward C.|title=Work Begun on Queens Subway Extension|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/10/24/80809618.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 26, 2015|date=October 24, 1973|archive-date=October 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005130247/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/10/24/80809618.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes-QBLExpansion-1971/>