West Fourth Street – Washington Square (New York City Subway)

West Fourth Street – Washington Square
New York City Subway rapid transit station
300px IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms
Station statistics
Address	West Third Street & Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10014 (main station entrance)
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Greenwich Village
Coordinates
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Sixth Avenue Line       IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (all times)       B  (weekdays at all hours except late evenings and nights)       C  (all times except late nights)       D  (all times)       E  (all times)       F  (all times)       M  (weekdays at all hours except late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M5
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	4 island platforms (2 on each level) cross-platform interchange
Tracks	8 (4 on each level)
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932 (1932-09-10) (upper level) December 15, 1940 (1940-12-15) (lower level)
Accessible
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	13,942,101  3%
Rank	20 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	14th Street (8th Ave): A  C  E  14th Street (6th Ave local): F  M  34th Street – Herald Square (6th Ave express): B  D
Next south	Spring Street (8th Ave local): A  C  E  Canal Street (8th Ave express): A  Broadway – Lafayette Street (6th Ave): B  D  F  M
Next north	14th Street (8th Ave): A  C  E  34th Street – Herald Square (6th Ave): B  D  F  M
Next south	World Trade Center (8th Ave local): no regular service none; elevator at World Trade Center out of service: E  Fulton Street: A  C  Broadway – Lafayette Street (6th Ave): B  D  F  M
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops weekdays only
West 4th Street Subway Station (IND)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference #	05000223
Added to NRHP	March 30, 2005

West Fourth Street – Washington Square is an express station and transfer stop on the IND Sixth Avenue and IND Eighth Avenue Lines of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of West Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. It is served by:

• A, D, E, and F trains at all times;
• B and M trains on weekdays;
• C train at all times except late nights

History

The upper level serves Eighth Avenue Line trains.

West Fourth Street opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the first line of the Independent Subway System (IND), the Eighth Avenue Line, from Chambers Street to Inwood – 207th Street. At the time, only the upper level was used, with service on the lower level beginning in January 1936 with service from the Eighth Avenue Line to Second Avenue; through service on the Sixth Avenue local tracks began in December 1940. The Sixth Avenue express tracks were built later and were put into through service on November 27, 1967; prior to then, the express tracks here and at 34th Street – Herald Square were used as terminal tracks only.

The station was named West Fourth Street as opposed to merely Fourth Street because the planners of the Independent Subway System believed there would be confusion between this station and South Fourth Street, a proposed transfer station on the never-built IND Second System in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/ Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agents (Elevator at NE corner of Sixth Avenue and 3rd Street)
B2	Northbound local	← toward 168th Street ( toward 207th Street late nights) (14th Street (Eighth Avenue)) ← toward Jamaica Center – Parsons/Archer (14th Street (Eighth Avenue))
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound express	← toward 207th Street all except nights (14th Street (Eighth Avenue))
	Southbound express	→ toward Rockaway Park (PM rush hours), or Lefferts Boulevard or Mott Avenue (all except nights) (Canal Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound local	→ toward Euclid Avenue ( toward Mott Avenue late nights) (Spring Street) → → toward World Trade Center (Spring Street) →
B3	Mezzanine	Transfer between directions/lines
B4	Northbound local	← toward Jamaica – 179th Street (14th Street (Sixth Avenue)) ← toward Forest Hills – 71st Avenue (14th Street (Sixth Avenue))
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound express	← toward Bedford Park Boulevard rush hours, 145th Street other times (34th Street – Herald Square) ← toward Norwood – 205th Street (34th Street – Herald Square)
	Southbound express	→ toward Brighton Beach (Broadway – Lafayette Street) → → toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via West End (Broadway – Lafayette Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue via Culver (Broadway – Lafayette Street) → → toward Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue (Broadway – Lafayette Street) →

File:W 4 St - 6th Avenue Line Downtown Platform.jpg

The lower level serves Sixth Avenue Line trains.

West Fourth Street station was built by the IND as the major transfer point between its two Manhattan trunk lines. It can be considered the "heart" of the IND system as it is the location of the zero point on the IND chaining. It is a bi-level station with a connecting concourse between the two platform levels. The Eighth Avenue Line occupies the upper level, while the Sixth Avenue Line uses the lower level. Both levels use identical platform arrangements – two island platforms between four tracks, allowing for cross-platform interchanges between local and express trains in each direction.

There are two fare control areas, one at each end of the station. Both lead directly to the Eighth Avenue Line on the upper level platforms; access to the Sixth Avenue Line on the lower level is via stairs and elevators from the upper level and/or the full-length mezzanine between the two levels. Several escalators are present, which go directly between one of the lower level platforms to its corresponding upper level platform. The elevators, added in April 2005 to make the station ADA-accessible, provide access to both levels and to the mezzanine. This massive station has only four exits despite its size, which illustrates the station's main purpose as a major transfer point between trains on both IND trunk lines. Furthermore, the station does not actually have an exit to Fourth Street itself. The northern exits are on the northern side of 6th Avenue and Waverly Place. Two staircases go up to the northeast corner, both built into alcoves of stores, and one to the northwest corner. The southern exits are at West Third Street, on the east and west sides of 6th Avenue.

South of this station, at the curve from under Houston Street to Sixth Avenue on the IND Sixth Avenue Line (lower level), a bellmouth merges with the Queens-bound local track.

Exits

File:W 4 St - Exit at West 8th Street and 6th Avenue.JPG

Street stair

• NW corner of Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place
• East side of Sixth Avenue north of Waverly Place
• NE corner of Sixth Avenue and West Third Street (elevator and staircase)
• West side of Sixth Avenue at West Third Street

Nearby points of interest

• Washington Square Park
• West Fourth Street Courts
• West Village
• New York University

External links

• nycsubway.org—IND 8th Avenue: West Fourth Street/Washington Square
• nycsubway.org—IND 6th Avenue: West Fourth Street/Washington Square
• Station Reporter — A Lefferts
• Station Reporter — A Rockaway
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — C Train
• Station Reporter — D Train
• Station Reporter — E Train
• Station Reporter — F Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• Waverly Place entrance from Google Maps Street View
• entrance north of Waverly Place from Google Maps Street View
• West Third Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Mezzanine from Google Maps Street View
• Upper level from Google Maps Street View
• Lower level from Google Maps Street View