36th Street station (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

36th Street is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 36th Street and Northern Boulevard in Queens, it is served by the M train on weekdays, the R train at all times except nights, and the E train at night.

36 Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Platform view, with station-name sign on column
Station statistics
Address	36th Street & Northern Boulevard Queens, NY 11101
Borough	Queens
Locale	Long Island City
Coordinates	40.752036°N 73.927903°W
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	E  (late nights) ​   M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.) ​   R  (all hours except late nights)
Transit	MTA Bus: Q101
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	August 19, 1933
Station code	272[1]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	1,383,420[2]  8.6%
Rank	310 out of 424[2]
Station succession
Next north	Steinway Street: E  ​M  ​R
Next south	Queens Plaza: E  ​M  ​R  21st Street–Queensbridge (63rd Street Line): no regular service
Location
Track layout to Steinway St shortcut past Northern Blvd Station under Northern Blvd to 21 St–Queensbridge to Queens Plaza
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays only

History

The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first lines built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND),[3][4][5] and stretches between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 179th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens.[3][5][6] The Queens Boulevard Line was in part financed by a Public Works Administration (PWA) loan and grant of $25 million.[7] One of the proposed stations would have been located at 36th Street.

The first section of the line, west from Roosevelt Avenue to 50th Street, opened on August 19, 1933. E trains ran local to Hudson Terminal (today's World Trade Center) in Manhattan, while the GG (predecessor to current G service) ran as a shuttle service between Queens Plaza and Nassau Avenue on the IND Crosstown Line.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
P Platform level	Side platform
	Southbound local	← toward Metropolitan Avenue weekdays (Queens Plaza) ← toward 95th Street (Queens Plaza) ← toward World Trade Center late nights (Queens Plaza)
	Southbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Northbound local	→ toward 71st Avenue weekdays (Steinway Street) → → toward 71st Avenue (Steinway Street) → → toward Jamaica Center late nights (Steinway Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. The two center express tracks are used by the E train during daytime hours and the F train at all times.[14]

Both platforms have red I-beam columns at regular intervals with every other one having the standard black station sign plates with white lettering. The station's trim line is purple with a black border and name tablets have "36TH ST." in white lettering on a black background and purple border. Small directional and name signs are tiled in white lettering on a black border under the trim line and name tablets.

This is one of two stations on the R route that is named "36th Street"; the other is 36th Street on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn.[15]

Exits

The northeast corner entrance to 36th Street station

Each platform has two fare control areas and there are no crossovers or crossunders to allow free transfer between directions. The fare control areas on the Manhattan-bound side are on platform level. The full-time one is at the middle and has a turnstile bank, token booth, and two staircases going up to the three-way intersection of Northern Boulevard, 36th Street, and 35th Street, one to the northeast corner and the other to the island formed by these three streets. The Manhattan-bound platform has another un-staffed entrance/exit at the extreme east (railroad north) end. It has two High Entry/Exit Turnstiles and a single staircase going up to the northeast corner of 36th Street and Northern Boulevard. Connecting these two fare control areas is a passageway that was formerly part of the platform as only a full-height fence separates them and it has the platform's trim line and name tablets.[16]

The fare control areas on the Forest Hills-bound side are un-staffed and on small mezzanines above the platforms that are connected to each other. One is at the extreme west (railroad south) end and has one staircase to the platform, two HEET turnstiles, a part-time bank of regular turnstiles, and one street stair going up to the south side of Northern Boulevard east of 34th Street. The other fare control area has one staircase to the platform, one HEET turnstile and one exit-only turnstile, and one street stair going up to the south side of Northern Boulevard between 36th and 37th Streets.[16]

Nearby track infrastructure

There are route selector punch boxes on the southbound platform, for the connection to IND 63rd Street Line (currently used by the F train from the express tracks) west of the station. In normal revenue service, all trains that stop at this station continue along the IND Queens Boulevard Line to Queens Plaza.

East of this station, the express tracks dive down to a lower level and make a direct route to Roosevelt Avenue along Northern Boulevard while the local tracks turn north into Steinway Street and then east under Broadway. This is because Broadway and Steinway Street are not wide enough to hold four tracks underneath them. The only other line in the system where the express tracks split away from the mainline and make a shortcut is on the IND Culver Line between Seventh Avenue and Church Avenue in Brooklyn.

References

1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
3. Duffus, R.L. (September 22, 1929). "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". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
4. "QUEENS SUBWAY WORK AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: Completion Will Lead to Big Apartrnent Building, Says William C. Speers". The New York Times. April 7, 1929. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
5. "Queens Lauded as Best Boro By Chamber Chief". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 23, 1929. p. 40. Retrieved October 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. The New York Times, New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000, March 21, 1925, page 1
7. "TEST TRAINS RUNNING IN QUEENS SUBWAY; Switch and Signal Equipment of New Independent Line Is Being Checked". The New York Times. December 20, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
8. Kramer, Frederick A. (January 1, 1990). Building the Independent Subway. Quadrant Press. ISBN 978-0-915276-50-9.
9. Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2.
10. "Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932". thejoekorner.com. August 21, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
11. "TWO SUBWAY UNITS OPEN AT MIDNIGHT; Links in City-Owned System in Queens and Brooklyn to Have 15 Stations" (PDF). The New York Times. August 18, 1933. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
12. "New Queens Subway Service Will Be Launched Tonight; Tunnel From Manhattan Open to Jackson Heights; Service Will Eventually Be Extended Through To Jamaica". Long Island Daily Press. Fultonhistory.com. August 18, 1933. p. 20. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
13. "New Queens Tube To Open Saturday: Brooklyn-Long Island City Link of City Line Also to Be Put in Operation". New York Evening Post. Fultonhistory.com. August 17, 1933. p. 18. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
14. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 1056711733.
15. "R Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
16. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Long Island City" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IND Queens Boulevard Line: 36th Street
• Station Reporter — R Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• The Subway Nut — 36th Street Pictures
• 36th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 35th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 34th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View