The Church Avenue station is an express station on the

BMT Brighton Line The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined ...

of the New York City Subway, located at Church Avenue near East 18th Street in the Flatbush neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The station is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays only.

History

Early history

The original station at this location was a two-track side platform station that ran south from Church Avenue, whereas the current station runs to the north. At a point about south of Church Avenue, a clear difference in the form of the concrete retaining wall is visible on both sides of the right-of-way. This marks the point where the original Brighton Beach Line transitioned from an open-cut line depressed below ground level to a surface railroad for the remainder of the run to Coney Island. The line south of this point was converted from a two-track surface line to a four-track grade-separated line in 1907, and the portion north of this point was rebuilt from a two-track open cut to a four-track open cut in 1919. After August 1, 1920, through service was shifted from the current BMT Franklin Avenue Line to a new subway alignment under Flatbush Avenue, which permitted direct access to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

via the Manhattan Bridge and the

Montague Street Tunnel The Montague Street Tunnel is a rail tunnel of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line. The R uses the tunnel at all times, the N u ...

Renovations

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Church Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to to accommodate a ten-car train of -long IND cars, or a nine-car train of -long BMT cars. In 1981, the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

(MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. In 1982, the MTA began renovating the station. In 2019, as part of an initiative to increase the accessibility of the New York City Subway system, the MTA announced that it would install elevators at the Church Avenue station as part of the MTA's 2020–2024 Capital Program. In November 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a $965 million contract for the installation of 21 elevators across eight stations, including Church Avenue. A joint venture of ASTM and Halmar International would construct the elevators under a public-private partnership.

Station layout

Church Avenue is an

open-cut In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock from a relative rise along a route is removed. The term is also used in river management to speed a waterway's flow by short-cutting a meander. Cuts are typically used in road, rail, ...

express station with short tunnels at each end to carry the line between cross streets. The station has four tracks and two

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

s. Each platform has two staircases, leading to a station-house at each end.

Exits

There are two exits and entrances to the station, both through station houses. The full-time end of the station is at Church Avenue, to the south. The original station-house was demolished and replaced with the current structure. Plain white tiles dot the interior and exterior of this entrance. There are restrooms inside

fare control In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...

to the right side. The part-time entrance is at the north end of the station by Caton Avenue and St. Pauls Place, and the station-house there retains the original c.1918 exterior. This end of the station originally had a part-time booth during the morning rush; a high-exit turnstile was open at all other times. After the 1980s renovation, the station was converted to booth operations from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day. All of the platform columns were covered with steel supports during the renovation. At the midpoint, the southbound platform has an abandoned exit to East 18th Street between Church and Caton Avenues. The exterior of the station-house was made with brick and stucco, and was added in the early 1960s. The boarded-up staircase still stands.

References

External links

* * Station Reporter �
B Train
* Station Reporter �

* The Subway Nut �
Church Avenue Pictures

Church Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Caton Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platform from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, brighton=yes BMT Brighton Line stations New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn Railway stations in the United States opened in 1878 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1907 Flatbush, Brooklyn