The F and <F> Queens Boulevard Express/Sixth Avenue Local[3] are two rapid transit services in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Their route bullets are colored orange, since they use and are part of the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan.[4]
The F operates 24 hours a day between 179th Street in Jamaica, Queens and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Daytime service makes express stops in Queens (between Forest Hills–71st Avenue and 21st Street–Queensbridge) and all stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn; overnight service makes all stops along the full route. Limited rush hour service operates along the full route and makes express stops between Jay Street and Church Avenue in the peak direction only, making one intermediate stop at Seventh Avenue; this express service was introduced in September 2019. In Brooklyn, local service is denoted as (F) in a circle-shaped bullet while express service is denoted as <F> in a diamond-shaped bullet.
From 1968 to 1976, the F ran express along the IND Culver Line in Brooklyn. The F also ran via the 53rd Street Tunnel until moving to the 63rd Street Tunnel in 2001, except between August 2023 and March 2024 when service between Queens and Manhattan was rerouted to the 53rd Street Tunnel due to track replacement. Since the 1990s, there have been calls to restore partial express service in Brooklyn from Jay Street–MetroTech to Church Avenue, although this has been controversial. The limited express <F> service between Jay Street and Church Avenue started on September 16, 2019, with two trains in the peak direction during rush hours.[5] The F has a weekday ridership of 600,000.[6]
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