Editing Independent Subway System (section)

==History==
{{see also|Proposed_expansion_of_the_New_York_City_Subway#Mayor_Hylan.27s_plan|l1=Mayor Hylan's plan for the IND}}
In the early 1920s, Mayor [[John Hylan]] proposed a complex series of city-owned and operated rapid transit lines to compete with the BMT and IRT, especially their elevated lines.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two Subway Routes Adopted by City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/04/archives/two-subway-routes-adopted-by-city-estimate-board-accepts-wash.html|work=[[New York Times]]|date=August 4, 1923|page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Plans Now Ready to Start Subways|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/12/archives/plans-now-ready-to-start-subways-commission-notifies-city-it-can.html|work=[[New York Times]]|date=March 12, 1924|page=1}}</ref> The New York City Transit Commission was formed in 1921 to develop a plan to reduce overcrowding on the subways. The original plans included:<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>
* Two major trunk lines in midtown Manhattan, with one running under [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]] and one under [[Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)|Sixth Avenue]], which already had an elevated line
* A crosstown subway under 53rd Street (connecting with the Eighth and Sixth Avenue subways) running under the [[East River]] to Queens Plaza (Long Island City), meeting with a [[Brooklyn]]–[[Queens]] crosstown line, and continuing under [[Queens Boulevard]] and Hillside Avenue to [[Jamaica – 179th Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|179th Street]], where bus service would converge
* A subway under the [[Grand Concourse (Bronx)|Grand Concourse]] in [[the Bronx]], diverging from the Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan at 145th Street and [[Saint Nicholas Avenue (Manhattan)|Saint Nicholas Avenue]]

These lines were completely built as planned. All but a short portion of the Culver Line (over the [[Gowanus Canal]]) are underground.<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

On March 14, 1925, the groundbreaking of the Eighth Avenue subway took place at 123rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.<ref name="nycsubway.org" />

On July 8, 1931, the first train of [[R1 (New York City Subway car)|R1]]s left Coney Island at 11:35am and ran via the [[BMT Sea Beach Line]] to [[Times Square–42nd Street (BMT Broadway Line)|Times Square]]. The trip took 42 minutes.<ref name="nycsubway.org" />

===Opening and progress through 1933===

====First Manhattan trunk line, 1932====
[[File:Chambers St 3 vc.jpg|thumb|[[World Trade Center (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|World Trade Center]] station]]
On September 10, 1932, the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]] opened from [[Inwood–207th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|207th Street]] to [[Chambers Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Chambers Street]], inaugurating the IND. In February 1933 the [[Cranberry Street Tunnel]] opened, along with the Eighth Avenue Line from [[Chambers Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Chambers Street]] to [[Jay Street–Borough Hall (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Jay Street–Borough Hall]]. On the northern end of the construction, in the Bronx, the connecting [[IND Concourse Line|Concourse Line]] opened on July 1, 1933 from [[Norwood–205th Street (IND Concourse Line)|205th Street]] to [[145th Street (IND Concourse Line)|145th Street]].<ref name="chambers">{{cite news|title=Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains in New Subway|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D13F7395513738DDDA90994D1405B828FF1D3|work=[[New York Times]]|date=September 10, 1932|page=1}}</ref> On the IND's opening day, it had a relatively small subway car fleet of 300 cars, while the IRT had 2,281 subway and 1,694 elevated cars, and the BMT had 2,472 cars.<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

The new IND Eighth Avenue Line was built using {{convert|1,000,000|yd3|ft3}} of [[concrete]] and {{convert|150,000|ST|kg}} of [[steel]]. The [[roadbed]] of the new subway was expected to last 30 years.<ref name="nycsubway.org"/> At the time of the line's opening, other portions of the Independent Subway System were under construction, including five underwater tunnels:<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>
*[[Cranberry Street Tunnel]], {{convert|8,487|ft|m}} long
*[[Rutgers Street Tunnel]], {{convert|5,479|ft|m}} long
*[[53rd Street Tunnel]], {{convert|5,589|ft|m}} long
*[[Concourse Tunnel]], {{convert|5,397|ft|m}} long
*[[Greenpoint Tube]], {{convert|4,790|ft|m}} long

There was some [[vandalism]] on the IND Eighth Avenue Line's opening day, as some of the uptown stations were broken into by people who clogged [[turnstile]] slots with [[Chewing gum|gum]] and other objects. Two months after the IND opened for business, three exits from the [[96th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|96th Street]] and [[103rd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|103rd Street]] stations – at 95th and 97th Streets and at 105th Street, respectively – were closed due to theft.<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

====First branch lines====
[[File:1939 Station Guide Independent City Owned Rapid Transit Railroad.jpg|thumb|300x300px|A map of the IND system, 1939.]]
The Queens Boulevard Line, also referred to as the '''Long Island City−Jamaica Line''', '''Fifty-third Street−Jamaica Line''', and '''Queens Boulevard−Jamaica Line''' prior to opening,<ref name="NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/09/22/archives/our-great-subway-network-spreads-wider-new-plans-of-board-of.html|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|date=September 22, 1929|work=[[The New York Times]]|last1=Duffus|first1=R.L.|access-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-QBL-AheadSched-1929">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/04/07/archives/queens-subway-work-ahead-of-schedule-completion-will-lead-to-big.html|title=Queens Subway Work Ahead of Schedule: Completion Will Lead to Big Apartrnent Building, Says William C. Speers|date=April 7, 1929|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 1, 2015}}</ref><ref name="BklynEagle-QnsBestBoro-1929">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/58266784/?terms=%22178th%22%2Bsubway%2Bqueens|title=Queens Lauded as Best Boro By Chamber Chief|date=September 23, 1929|page=40|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|newspaper=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|access-date=October 4, 2015}}</ref> was an original line of the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), planned to stretch between the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]] in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.<ref name="NYTimes-OurGreatSubway-IND2ndSystem-1929" /><ref name="BklynEagle-QnsBestBoro-1929" /><ref name="NYTimes-HylanSubway-CulverCrstwnQBL-1925">[[New York Times]], [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1925/03/21/101651400.pdf New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000], March 21, 1925, p. 1.</ref>

The first section of the line, west from [[Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street (New York City Subway)|Roosevelt Avenue]] to [[50th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|50th Street]], opened on August 19, 1933.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book|url=http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/services/Download/aql:12691/SOURCE1?view=true|title=Elmhurst : from town seat to mega-suburb|last=Seyfried|first=Vincent F.|publisher=Vincent F. Seyfried|year=1995}}</ref> '''{{NYCS|E}}''' trains ran local to [[World Trade Center (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]] (today's World Trade Center) in Manhattan, while the {{NYCS|GG}} (predecessor to current '''G''' service) ran as a shuttle service between Queens Plaza and [[Nassau Avenue (IND Crosstown Line)|Nassau Avenue]] on the [[IND Crosstown Line]], which opened on the same day.<ref name=":032">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8cDPQAACAAJ|title=Building the Independent Subway|last=Kramer|first=Frederick A.|date=1990|publisher=Quadrant Press|isbn=978-0-915276-50-9|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-20135">{{Cite Routes Not Taken}}</ref><ref name="INDServicesChart">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/Indhistory.htm|title=Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932|date=August 21, 2013|website=thejoekorner.com|access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-INDQBLCrstwnOpen-19332">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/08/18/99841892.pdf|title=Two Subway Units Open at Midnight; Links in City-Owned System in Queens and Brooklyn to Have 15 Stations|date=August 18, 1933|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 7, 2015}}</ref><ref name="LIDaily-QBL-CrosstownOpen-Aug1933">{{cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252014%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%25201933%2FJamaica%2520NY%2520Long%2520Island%2520Daily%2520Press%25201933%2520-%25204319.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F4b038616712c5736ea2d11c006e2761c#page=1|title=New Queens Subway Service Will Be Launched Tonight; Tunnel From Manhattan Open to Jackson Heights; Service Will Eventually Be Extended Through To Jamaica|date=August 18, 1933|work=Long Island Daily Press|agency=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|page=20|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYPost-QBLOpen-Aug1719332">{{cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252011%2FNew%2520York%2520Evening%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201933%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201933%2520Grayscale%2520-%25203621.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2Fdc3270b9b47b7092cbaa4226fb0c5c6c#page=1|title=New Queens Tube To Open Saturday: Brooklyn–Long Island City Link of City Line Also to Be Put in Operation|date=August 17, 1933|work=[[New York Post|New York Evening Post]]|agency=[[Fultonhistory.com]]|page=18|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref>

The [[Cranberry Street Tunnel]], extending the Eighth Avenue express tracks east under Fulton Street to [[Jay Street–MetroTech (New York City Subway)|Jay Street–Borough Hall]] in Brooklyn, was opened for the morning rush hour on February 1, 1933.<ref name="Jay">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/01/archives/city-opens-subway-to-brooklyn-today-regular-express-service-on-the.html|title=City Opens Subway to Brooklyn Today|date=February 1, 1933|work=[[New York Times]]|page=19}}</ref> Until June 24, 1933, [[High Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|High Street]] was skipped.<ref name="nycsubway.org" />

The first short section of the IND Culver Line opened on March 20, 1933, taking Eighth Avenue Express {{NYCS|A}} trains (and for about a month from July to August {{NYCS|C}} trains) south from Jay Street to [[Bergen Street (IND Culver Line)|Bergen Street]].<ref name="INDServicesChart3">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/Indhistory.htm|title=Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932|date=August 21, 2013|website=thejoekorner.com|access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/20/archives/city-subway-adds-a-new-link-today-service-to-be-extended-halfmile.html|title=City Subway Adds a New Link Today|date=March 20, 1933|work=[[New York Times]]|page=17}}</ref> The rest of the line opened on October 7, 1933 to the "temporary" terminal at Church Avenue,<ref name="INDServicesChart3" /><ref name="Church">[[New York Times]], [https://www.nytimes.com/1933/10/07/archives/6000000-saving-planned-for-irt-drastic-economies-described-by.html City Subway Extended], October 7, 1933, page 16</ref> three blocks away from the Culver elevated at Ditmas Avenue.<ref name="BklynEagle-Culver-Coney-Imminent-Jan1941">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/52625576/?terms=culver%2Bramp%2Bsubway|title=New One-Fare Link to Coney Imminent: Transportation Board to Seek Bids For Culver Ramp to Independent Line|date=January 2, 1941|pages=1, 5|last1=Schmalacker|first1=Joseph H.|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|newspaper=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref><ref name="MTA-BoroughPk-Kensington-2015">{{cite NYCS map|neighborhood|Borough Park}}</ref> In 1936, the A was rerouted to the [[IND Fulton Street Line]] and {{NYCS|E}} trains from the [[IND Queens Boulevard Line|Queens Boulevard Line]] replaced them.<ref name="INDServicesChart3" />

===Second Manhattan trunk line, 1936–1940===
The first part of the [[IND Sixth Avenue Line]], or what was then known as the '''Houston–Essex Street Line''', began operations at noon on January 1, 1936 with two local tracks from a junction with the [[Washington Heights, Eighth Avenue and Church Street Line]] (Eighth Avenue Line) south of [[West Fourth Street–Washington Square (New York City Subway)|West Fourth Street–Washington Square]] east under [[Houston Street (Manhattan)|Houston Street]] and south under [[Essex Street (Manhattan)|Essex Street]] to a temporary terminal at [[East Broadway (IND Sixth Avenue Line)|East Broadway]]. [[E (New York City Subway service)|E]] trains, which ran from [[Jackson Heights, Queens]] to [[Hudson Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]], were shifted to the new line to East Broadway.<ref name="East Broadway">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/02/archives/la-guardia-opens-new-subway-link-warmly-praises-delaney-as-he-puts.html|title=LaGuardia Opens New Subway Link|date=January 2, 1936|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=1|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> Two express tracks were built on the portion under Houston Street until Essex Street-Avenue A; the tracks were intended to travel under the East River and connect with the never-built [[IND Worth Street Line]] in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/indsecond.html|title=IND Second System – 1929 Plan|last=Pirmann|first=David|date=November 1997|access-date=August 30, 2016|work=www.nycsubway.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://secondavenuesagas.com/2010/11/02/the-history-of-a-subway-shell-at-south-4th-street/|title=The history of a subway shell at South 4th Street|last=Kabak|first=Benjamin|date=November 2, 2010|access-date=August 30, 2016|work=Second Ave. Sagas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/indsecsys.html|title=Abandoned Stations : IND Second System unfinished stations|last=Brennan|first=Joseph|date=2002|access-date=August 30, 2016|work=columbia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Station:_2nd_Avenue_(6th_Avenue_Line)|title=Second Avenue station IND 6th Avenue Line|last1=Pirmann|first1=David|last2=Darlington|first2=Peggy|access-date=August 30, 2016|last3=Aryel|first3=Ron|work=www.nycsubway.org}}</ref>

Just after midnight on April 9, 1936, trains began running under the [[East River]] via the Rutgers Street Tunnel, which connected the Houston-Essex Street Line with the north end of the [[IND Culver Line|Jay–Smith–Ninth Street Line]] at a junction with the Eighth Avenue Line north of [[Jay Street–Borough Hall (IND Culver Line)|Jay Street–Borough Hall]]. '''E''' trains were sent through the connection to [[Church Avenue (IND Culver Line)|Church Avenue]]. Simultaneously, the [[IND Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]] was opened to [[Rockaway Avenue (IND Fulton Street Line)|Rockaway Avenue]] and the [[A (New York City Subway service)|A]] and [[C (New York City Subway service)|C]] trains, which had used Smith Street, were rerouted to Fulton Street.<ref name="Rutgers2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/06/archives/two-subway-links-start-wednesday-city-will-begin-operating-fulton.html|title=Two Subway Links Start Wednesday|date=April 6, 1936|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=23|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D13FF385B1B7B93CBA9178FD85F428385F9|title=New Subway Link Opened by Mayor|date=April 9, 1936|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=23|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref>

During construction, streetcar service along Sixth Avenue was terminated. The city had the choice of either restoring it upon the completion of construction or abandoning it immediately. As the city wanted to tear down the [[IRT Sixth Avenue Line]] right away and save on the costs of shoring it up while construction proceeded underneath it, the IRT Sixth Avenue Line was purchased for [[US dollar|$]]12.5 million and terminated by the city on December 5, 1938.

On December 15, 1940, local subway service began on Sixth Avenue from the West Fourth Street subway station to the 47-50th Street subway station with track connections to the IND 53rd Street Line.<ref name=":02">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/12/15/archives/new-subway-line-on-6th-ave-opens-at-midnight-fete-mayor-and-2000.html|title=New Subway Line on 6th Ave. Opens at Midnight Fete|date=December 15, 1940|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=1|access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> The Sixth Avenue Line's construction cost $59,500,000. The following routes were added with the opening of service:
* The [[AA (New York City Subway service)|AA]] Washington Heights Local was brought back for non-rush-hour service between [[168th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|168th Street]] and [[Hudson Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]] via the [[IND Eighth Avenue Line|Eighth Avenue Line]].
* The {{NYCS service|BB}} Washington Heights Local was added for rush-hour only service between [[168th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|168th Street]] and [[Hudson Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]] via the Sixth Avenue Line.
* The {{NYCS service|D}} Bronx Concourse Express was added for service between [[Norwood–205th Street (IND Concourse Line)|Norwood–205th Street]] and [[Hudson Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line)|Hudson Terminal]] via the Sixth Avenue Line.
* {{NYCS service|E}} (Queens–Manhattan Express) service was cut back from [[Church Avenue (IND Culver Line)|Church Avenue]] to [[Broadway–Lafayette Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line)|Broadway–Lafayette Street]].
* {{NYCS service|F}} (Queens–Manhattan Express) was added for service between [[Parsons Boulevard (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Parsons Boulevard]] and [[Church Avenue (IND Culver Line)|Church Avenue]] via the Sixth Avenue Line.

Sixth Avenue express service would not begin until 1967, after the [[Chrystie Street Connection]] opened.<ref name="nycsubway.org" />

===More branch lines open===
The [[IND Fulton Street Line|Fulton Street Line]] was opened from Jay Street to [[Rockaway Avenue (IND Fulton Street Line)|Rockaway Avenue]] on April 9, 1936, including the stub terminal at [[New York Transit Museum#Historic use as station|Court Street]]. A shuttle was operated between Court Street and Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets.<ref name="Rutgers2"/><ref name="nyt19360409">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/09/archives/new-subway-link-opened-by-mayor-he-tells-15000-in-brooklyn-it-will.html|title=New Subway Link Opened by Mayor; He Tells 15,000 in Brooklyn It Will Be Extended to Queens When Red Tape Is Cut.|date=April 9, 1936|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=August 15, 2016}}</ref>

On December 31, 1936, the Queens Boulevard Line was extended from Roosevelt Avenue to [[Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/127872292@N06/21882894551/|title=Reproduction Poster of Extension to Union Turnpike – Kew Gardens|website=Flickr – Photo Sharing!|date=October 2015|access-date=April 26, 2016}}</ref><ref name="WheelsDroveNY-20123">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfZ0VxuLoc0C&pg=PA416|title=The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System|year=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-642-30484-2|pages=416–417|author1=Roger P. Roess|author2=Gene Sansone}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-RoosevelttoUTpkeOpen-1036">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/12/30/88096632.pdf|title=PWA Party Views New Subway Link: Queens Section to Be Opened Tomorrow Is Inspected by Tuttle and Others|date=December 30, 1936|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":32"/>

The Queens Boulevard Line was extended to Hillside Avenue and 178th Street, with a terminal station at 169th Street on April 24, 1937.<ref name=":032"/><ref name="WheelsDroveNY-20123"/><ref name="NYTImes-QBL169Ext-1937">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/03/17/118965719.pdf|title=Subway Link Opens Soon: City Line to Jamaica Will Start About April 24|date=March 17, 1937|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYTImes-169Test-1937">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/04/09/94351009.pdf|title=Trial Run to Jamaica on Subway Tomorrow: Section From Kew Gardens to 169th Street Will Open to Public in Two Weeks|date=April 9, 1937|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 30, 2015}}</ref> That day, express service began on the Queens Boulevard Line during rush hours, with '''E''' trains running express west of 71st–Continental Avenues, and '''GG''' trains taking over the local during rush hours.<ref name="INDServicesChart2">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/Indhistory.htm|title=Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932|date=August 21, 2013|website=thejoekorner.com|access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Sparberg20142">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oktGCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|title=From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA|last=Sparberg|first=Andrew J.|date=2014|publisher=Fordham University Press|isbn=978-0-8232-6190-1}}</ref> The initial headway for express service was between three and five minutes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/04/24/archives/transit-link-open-today-8th-ave-line-extended-to-jamaicacelebration.html|title=Transit Link Opens Today; 8th Ave. Line Extended to Jamaica – Celebration Arranged|date=April 24, 1937|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=August 4, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Smith Ninth night vc.jpg|thumb|[[Smith–Ninth Streets (IND Culver Line)|Smith–Ninth Streets]]]]

The entire Crosstown Line was completed and connected to the [[IND Culver Line]] on July 1, 1937, whereupon the '''GG''' was extended in both directions to [[Smith–Ninth Streets (IND Culver Line)|Smith–Ninth Streets]] and [[Forest Hills–71st Avenue (IND Queens Boulevard Line)|Forest Hills–71st Avenue]].<ref name="nycsubway.org" /><ref name="bde19370701">{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52688792/?terms=crosstown%2Bsubway|title=New Crosstown Subway Line Is Opened|date=July 1, 1937|newspaper=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|access-date=December 24, 2015}}</ref>

From April 30, 1939 to October 28, 1940, the Queens Boulevard Line served the [[1939 New York World's Fair]] via the [[IND World's Fair Line|World's Fair Railroad]]. The World's Fair line ran via a connection through the [[Jamaica Yard]] and through [[Flushing Meadows–Corona Park]] along the current right-of-way of the [[Van Wyck Expressway]].<ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-20135"/><ref name="WheelsDroveNY-20123"/><ref name="NYTImes-ToBuildFairSubway-1937">{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/10/27/94447453.pdf|title=To Build Fair Subway P. T. Cox Co. Wins Award for Extending Independent System The first contract for the World's Fair spur from the Queens Boulevard line of the Independent Subway System was awarded yesterday by the Board of Transportation to the lowest bidder, the P. T. Cox Contracting Company, at the bid price of $308,770|date=October 27, 1937|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 6, 2015}}</ref> Despite calls from public officials such as Queens Borough President George Harvey to make the line a permanent connection to [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]] and northern Queens, the line was demolished in 1941.<ref name="Raskin-RoutesNotTaken-20135"/>

===Proposed expansion===
{{main|Proposed New York City Subway expansion}}
Mayor John Hylan proposed some never-built lines in 1922 even before the first leg of the IND was completed. These lines included:<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

*A West Side trunk line in Manhattan between 14th Street and the city limits at [[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]]. The line would be 4 tracks between 14th Street and 162nd Street, 3 tracks to Dyckman Street, and 2 tracks to the terminal. There would be a two-track spur from 162nd Street to 190th Street via Amsterdam Avenue. From 14th Street, the line would split; two tracks would connect to the BMT Canarsie Line and two tracks would continue south to a loop at Battery Park and an East River tunnel to [[Atlantic Avenue (New York City)|Atlantic Avenue]] and Hicks Street, Brooklyn. Supposedly, there was also a plan of a line to [[Red Hook, Brooklyn|Red Hook]].
*A trunk line, 4 tracks, on [[First Avenue (Manhattan)|First Avenue]] from the Harlem River to 10th Street. From 10th Street, the line would split. Two tracks would run via [[Third Avenue]] and the [[Bowery]] to a new Lafayette Avenue subway in Brooklyn. The other two would run to a loop near City Hall. From the Harlem River, the line would run to [[East 161st Street|161st Street]], and split into two 3-track routes: one to Fordham Road & Southern Blvd and the other to Webster Ave. & Fordham Road, where it would join the current IRT White Plains Road line and continue to 241st Street. Since this portion of the IRT El was already built to BMT clearances, and Hylan's system would consider using BMT clearances as well, all that would have to be done along this section is shave back the platforms.
*A line from [[125th Street (Manhattan)|125th Street]] (near today's [[Henry Hudson Parkway]]) crosstown, to and across the [[East River]], to [[Astoria, Queens]], likely connecting to the [[BMT Astoria Line]].
*A new subway line, with between two and four tracks at various areas, from approximately the [[Hunters Point Avenue (IRT Flushing Line)|Hunters Point Avenue]] station on today's [[IRT Flushing Line]] in Queens, heading in a southeasterly direction to Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn. At Lafayette Avenue, the line would split. Two tracks would turn into a four-track line along Lafayette Avenue. The other two tracks would run to Flatbush and Franklin Avenues.
*A 4-track subway line from Brooklyn's [[Borough Hall (Brooklyn)|Borough Hall]] via the Lafayette Avenue subway to [[Bedford Avenue]]. From there it was three tracks to [[Broadway (Brooklyn)|Broadway]] to [[Cypress Hills, Brooklyn]] where the line would continue on the present-day [[BMT Jamaica Line]]. (The line would have ended at [[168th Street (BMT Jamaica Line)|168th Street]], where the BMT Jamaica Line once ended.) The subway would have run directly under the line along Broadway giving it direct competition for passengers, and (in Hylan's opinion) draining revenues from the BMT. Two tracks of the Lafayette Avenue subway would connect with the proposed First Avenue line.
*A new branch off the [[IRT Eastern Parkway Line]] in Brooklyn onto [[Utica Avenue]], running under Utica to [[Flatlands Avenue]].
*A 4-track subway under Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to [[Nostrand Avenue]], to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, turning west onto Emmons Avenue to Surf Avenue in [[Coney Island]]. A branch of this line would head out to [[Floyd Bennett Field]] under Flatbush Avenue.
*Extension of the [[BMT Canarsie Line]] to the BMT Jamaica Line somewhere beyond 121st Street in Queens.
*A new line running from Prospect Avenue via Fort Hamilton Parkway, to 10th Avenue, terminating at 90th Street. [[BMT Culver Line]] trains would use this line.
*Extension of the [[BMT Fourth Avenue Line]] in Brooklyn, south to [[Bay Ridge – 95th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)|Bay Ridge – 95th Street]]. (This was the only other line that was complete.)
*Extension of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line east to the Fort Hamilton Parkway Line and the [[BMT West End Line]].
*A two-track line from the BMT Fourth Avenue Line at 67th Street to Staten Island via the [[Staten Island Tunnel]].
*Extension of the [[IRT New Lots Line]] from New Lots Avenue to Lefferts Boulevard.
*Extension of the IRT Flushing Line to Bell Boulevard in [[Bayside, Queens|Bayside]] via [[Main Street (Queens)|Main Street]], [[Kissena Boulevard]], and [[Northern Boulevard]].
*A branch off the IRT Flushing Line to Jamaica from [[Roosevelt Avenue]].<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

A major expansion of the IND was first planned in 1929.<ref name="ind second system">nycsubway.org – [http://nycsubway.org/ind/indsecond.html IND Second System]</ref> It would have added over 100 miles of new routes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, merging with, intersecting or extending the existing IND rights-of way. It was claimed that this expansion, combined with the operating IRT, BMT, and IND lines, would provide subway service within a half mile of anyone's doorstep within these four boroughs.<ref name="ind second system"/> Pricing – excluding acquisition and equipment costs – was estimated at [[United States dollar|US$]]438 million. The entire first phase had only cost US$338 million, ''including'' acquisition and equipment costs.<ref name="ind second system"/>

Not long after these plans were unveiled, the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] occurred and the [[Great Depression]] was ushered in, and the plans essentially became history overnight.<ref name="ind second system"/> Various forms of the expansion resurfaced in 1939,<ref name="nycsubway.org"/> 1940,<ref>[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDTTMT-jAHs/T5_WEPEViiI/AAAAAAAAAMw/F9yGC2LHtD8/s1600/76st_b.jpg Track diagram of planned underground Fulton Street Line extension in Queens]</ref> 1951,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/bdtrans-51/bd-trans-51-plan-indx.html |title=Board of Transportation – 1951 |publisher=Thejoekorner.com |access-date=March 25, 2014 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224152538/http://www.thejoekorner.com/bdtrans-51/bd-trans-51-plan-indx.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Program for Action|1968]],<ref>{{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= April 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>[http://www.thejoekorner.com/lines/progforaction.htm Program for Action maps] from thejoekorner.com</ref> and 1998<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-06-27/Features/Flashback_To_1999_001.html |title=Flashback To 1999 &#124; www.qgazette.com &#124; Queens Gazette |publisher=www.qgazette.com |date=June 27, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322134801/http://www.qgazette.com/news/2007-06-27/features/flashback_to_1999_001.html |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but were never realized. This was the time when the IND had planned widespread elevated construction.<ref name="nycsubway.org"/>

The [[Second Avenue Subway]], one of the main parts of the plan, is open between 63rd and 96th Streets as of January 1, 2017.