Editing IND Concourse Line (section)

== History ==

=== Development ===
The IND Concourse Line, also referred to as the '''Bronx−Concourse Line''', was one of the original lines of the city-owned [[Independent Subway System]] (IND).<ref name="NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929" /><ref name="NYTimes-HylanSubway-CulverCrstwnQBL-1925">{{cite news|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/03/21/archives/new-subway-routes-in-hylan-program-to-cost-186046000-board-of.html|title=New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000|date=March 21, 1925|page=1|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The line running from Bedford Park Boulevard to the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]] in Manhattan was approved by the [[New York City Board of Transportation]] on March 10, 1925, with the connection between the two lines approved on March 24, 1927.<ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013">{{cite book|author=Joseph B. Raskin|title=The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5b6cAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT112 |access-date=August 12, 2015|date=November 1, 2013|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-5369-2}}</ref> The line was originally intended to be four tracks, rather than three tracks, to Bedford Park Boulevard.<ref name="NYTimes-HylanSubway-CulverCrstwnQBL-1925" /><ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013" /> This is the only IND line with three tracks (all other IND lines have either two or four tracks). The Concourse line's lower level of the [[145th Street (IND Concourse Line)|145th Street]] station was originally provisioned for four tracks, with the current tracks lining up with those of the upper level.<ref name="tracks" />

Construction of the line began in July 1928.<ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013" /> It was originally planned to end the line just past the Bedford Park Boulevard station, with a provision for an eastern extension.<ref name="NYTimes-HylanSubway-CulverCrstwnQBL-1925" /><ref name="NYTimes-INDCncrse-LastSect-1928">{{cite web|title=Board Speeds Subway on Grand Concourse – Bids on Last Section Expected Before New Year – Eastern Spur Contemplated|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/09/02/105201433.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 4, 2015|date=September 2, 1928}}</ref> An alternate approach to the current 205th Street station was proposed in February 1929, extending the line across private property onto Perry Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Subway Extension Urged|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/02/24/95882604.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 4, 2015|date=February 24, 1929}}</ref> The current routing was selected by June 1929.<ref name="NYTimes-INDCncrse-205StRouting-June1929">{{cite web|title=Opens Subway Bids: Estimate Board Gets Twelve Offers for Bronx Work|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/06/08/95968012.pdf|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 4, 2015|date=June 8, 1929}}</ref> The building of the line and proposed extensions to central and eastern Bronx (see below) led to real estate booms in the area.<ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013" /> The line was supposed to be completed by January 1933, but this was delayed due to financial difficulties following the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]].<ref name="nyt-1933-06-18">{{Cite news |date=1933-06-18 |title=New Bronx Subway to Operate July 1; City Extension to 205th Street to Be Opened Two Months Ahead of Schedule |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/06/18/archives/new-bronx-subway-to-operate-my-1-city-extension-to-205th-street-to.html |access-date=2022-07-01 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Test trains began running on June 18, 1933, when 700 IND employees started operating test trains on a regular schedule. The final cost was $40.5 million.<ref name="nyt-1933-06-18" /><ref name="p1114759078">{{cite news |date=18 June 1933 |title=3th Av. Subway Link to Bronx Opens on July 1: Concourse Line Will Be Ready Two Months Earlier Than Expected Test Trains Running Queens Service Expected to Start on August 1 |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114759078}}}}</ref>

=== Operation ===
The entire Concourse Line opened on July 1, 1933,<ref name="BklynEagle-INDCncrseOpen-1933">{{cite news|title=Bronx-Concourse New Subway Link Opened at 12:57 A.M.: Adds 21 1/2 Miles to City's System−Connects With Manhattan Line at 145th|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30303616/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=October 26, 2015|page=20|date=July 1, 1933}} {{open access}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-INDCncrseOpen-1933">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/07/01/archives/new-bronx-subway-starts-operation-40000000-branch-of-city-system.html|title=New Bronx Subway Starts Operation|date=July 1, 1933|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 13, 2010}}</ref> less than ten months after the IND's first line, the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]], opened for service. Initial service was provided by the [[C (New York City Subway service)|C]] train, at that time an express train, between 205th Street, then via the Eighth Avenue Line, [[Cranberry Street Tunnel]] and the IND South Brooklyn Line (now [[IND Culver Line|Culver Line]]) to [[Bergen Street (IND Culver Line)|Bergen Street]].<ref name="NYTimes-INDCncrseOpen-1933" /> The CC provided local service between [[Bedford Park Boulevard (IND Concourse Line)|Bedford Park Boulevard]] and [[Hudson Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]] (now World Trade Center).<ref name="NYTimes-INDCncrseOpen-1933" /> Trains initially ran every 4 minutes during rush hours, every 5 minutes during the daytime off-peak, and every 12 minutes at night. The timetable called for 92 express trains and 247 local trains a day.<ref name="nyt-1933-06-18" /><ref name="p1114759078" /> In addition to peak-direction express service (southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon), there was a "theater express" service, which ran southbound toward the [[Theater District, Manhattan|Theater District]] for about half an hour during the evening.<ref name="nyt-1933-06-18" />

On December 15, 1940, with the opening of the [[IND Sixth Avenue Line]], the [[D (New York City Subway service)|D]] train began serving the IND Concourse Line along with the C and CC. It made express stops in peak during rush hours and Saturdays and local stops at all other times. C express service was discontinued in 1949-51, but the C designation was reinstated in 1985 when the use of double letters to indicate local service was discontinued. During this time, the D made local stops along the Concourse Line at all times except rush hours, when the C ran local to Bedford Park Boulevard. On March 1, 1998, the [[B (New York City Subway service)|B]] train replaced the C as the rush-hour local on the Concourse Line, with the C moving to the Washington Heights portion of the Eighth Avenue Line.<ref name=NYCDCP-BwayJctStudy-2008>{{cite web|title=Broadway Junction Transportation Study: NYC Department of City Planning Final Report-November 2008 |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/transportation/broadway_junction_complete.pdf |website=[[Government of New York City|nyc.gov]] |publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]] |access-date=October 27, 2015 |date=November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606140932/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/transportation/broadway_junction_complete.pdf |archive-date=June 6, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

<!--Except for minor maintenance work and a station rehabilitation at [[161st Street–Yankee Stadium (IND Concourse Line)|161st Street–Yankee Stadium]], stations on the Concourse Line have largely been untouched since its opening in 1933, except for entrance closings and other reductions in service areas.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}-->[[Kingsbridge Road (IND Concourse Line)|Kingsbridge Road]] was rehabilitated with new elevators in December 2014.<ref name="MTA-Transit&Bus-Bx46-GChurch-Bx15-KngbdgIND-20132">{{cite web|url=http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130128_1030_TRANSIT.pdf#page=163|title=Transit & Bus Committee Meeting January 2013|date=January 2013|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531072345/http://mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/130128_1030_TRANSIT.pdf|archive-date=May 31, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bronx.news12.com/news/new-elevators-running-at-kingsbridge-road-subway-station-in-the-bronx-1.9731121|title=Elevators up and running at Bronx subway stop|date=December 19, 2014|website=[[News 12 The Bronx|bronx.news12.com]]|publisher=[[News 12 The Bronx]]|access-date=September 29, 2015|archive-date=October 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001191829/http://bronx.news12.com/news/new-elevators-running-at-kingsbridge-road-subway-station-in-the-bronx-1.9731121|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2015–2019 [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] Capital Plan called for the Concourse Line's [[167th Street (IND Concourse Line)|167th Street]] and [[174th–175th Streets (IND Concourse Line)|174th–175th Streets]] stations, along with 30 others, to undergo a complete overhaul as part of the [[Enhanced Station Initiative]]. Updates would include cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps, improved signage, and improved station lighting.<ref>{{cite web|last=Whitford|first=Emma|date=January 8, 2016|url=http://gothamist.com/2016/01/08/subway_facelift_shutdown.php|title=MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Revamp"|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=July 18, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801200338/http://gothamist.com/2016/01/08/subway_facelift_shutdown.php|archive-date=August 1, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/MTAStations.pdf|title=MTAStations|website=governor.ny.gov|publisher=Government of the State of New York|access-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref> 174th–175th Streets reopened on December 26, 2018.<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=NYCTSubway|number=1078125737843011585|title=We're back! The 174-175 Sts B/D station has reopened with: ✅Repaired platform structural steel and concrete ✅Replaced platform edges and repaired stairways ✅Added new digital wayfinding and customer information screens|date=December 26, 2018|author=NYCT Subway|author-link=New York City Transit Authority|language=en|access-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227033142/https://twitter.com/NYCTSubway/status/1078125737843011585|archive-date=December 27, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://travel.mtanyct.info/serviceadvisory/routeStatusResult.aspx?tag=ALL&date=12/27/2018&time=&method=getstatus4|title=Planned Service Changes for: Thursday, December 27, 2018|website=travel.mtanyct.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227150455/http://travel.mtanyct.info/serviceadvisory/routeStatusResult.aspx?tag=ALL&date=12%2F27%2F2018&time=&method=getstatus4|archive-date=December 27, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=December 27, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In June 2022, the MTA announced that the express track would be closed starting that July, with D trains using the local tracks at all times until the end of 2022. The closure would allow the MTA to conduct structural repairs to the line, including steel and concrete work; the project was to be completed in September 2024.<ref name="Mass Transit 2022">{{cite web | title=MTA to begin next phase of concourse line reconstruction on B and D Lines in the Bronx |date=June 13, 2022 | website=Mass Transit Magazine | url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/maintenance/press-release/21270838/mta-new-york-city-transit-mta-to-begin-next-phase-of-concourse-line-reconstruction-on-b-and-d-lines-in-the-bronx | access-date=July 1, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Rivoli 2022">{{cite web | last=Rivoli | first=Dan | title=MTA to 'refresh' Grand Concourse stations during rehab work | website=Spectrum News NY1 New York City | date=June 28, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/06/29/mta-grand-concourse-stations-rehab-work | access-date=July 1, 2022}}</ref> During that time, the line would also be closed for 40 weekends, and there would be overnight work for 75 weeks. The MTA would operate a shuttle bus between Norwood–205th Street and the {{NYCS trains|Jerome}} at [[Mosholu Parkway station]].<ref name="Rivoli 2022"/>

===Provisions for expansion===
The Concourse Line is mostly straight north of 161st Street–Yankee Stadium, but makes a slight right turn north of Bedford Park Boulevard to end at [[Norwood–205th Street (IND Concourse Line)|Norwood–205th Street]], with a provision to extend farther east.<ref name=NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929>{{cite web|last1=Duffus|first1=R.L.|title=Our Great Subway Network Spreads Wider – New Plans of Board of Transportation Involve the Building of More Than One Hundred Miles of Additional Rapid Transit Routes for New York|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/09/22/archives/our-great-subway-network-spreads-wider-new-plans-of-board-of.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2015|date=September 22, 1929}}</ref><ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013/> The original [[IND Second System]] Plan in 1929 proposed extending the line to Baychester Avenue via Burke Avenue and Boston Road. The extension, called "Route 106", was proposed to run elevated over [[Bronx Park]] in the lower-deck of a viaduct connecting 205th Street and Burke Avenue.<ref name=NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929/><ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013/><ref>{{cite web|title=City Board Votes New Subway Links|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=980CEED91030EE32A2575AC1A9659C946694D6CF|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 3, 2015|date=March 19, 1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=$101,200,000 Asked for 1930 Work on Tubes: Projects Include Jay, Fulton, Crosstown and Queens City Subways|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/58234468/?terms=culver%2Bramp%2Bsubway|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|access-date=September 16, 2015|date=January 14, 1930}}</ref> The first stop on the extension would have been at White Plains and Gun Hill Roads.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B07E4DC1E38E23ABC4051DFBF668382639EDE&legacy=true|title=To Auction Bronx Lots Today|date=September 28, 1929|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 28, 2016}}</ref> The Second System plans had multiple IND lines criss-crossing the five boroughs;<ref name=NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929/> however, the country was in the midst of the [[Great Depression]], and the city had neither the money nor the need to either extend the line east of 205th Street or make the line four tracks.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013/> A second plan in the 1930s had an additional extension along Burke Avenue to the [[New York, Westchester and Boston Railway]], running north along the railroad to [[Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)|Dyre Avenue]]. Preliminary engineering work for the extension along Burke Avenue took place in 1937 and 1938.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /> The city, however, found it easier and less expensive to purchase the railroad (now the [[IRT Dyre Avenue Line]]) and connect it with the [[IRT White Plains Road Line]], which hampered the Burke Avenue−Boston Road extension of the Concourse Line to Baychester Avenue.<ref name=Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-2013 /> In the 1960s and 1970 under the city's [[Program for Action]], it was proposed to extend the line a short distance to White Plains Road and [[Burke Avenue (IRT White Plains Road Line)|Burke Avenue]], at the [[IRT White Plains Road Line]].<ref name="int-arch">{{cite web | title=Full text of "Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York." | website=Internet Archive | date=November 7, 1967 | url=https://archive.org/stream/metropolitantran00newy/metropolitantran00newy_djvu.txt | access-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref> Financial troubles also caused the plan to be aborted.