IRT Flushing Line

IRT Flushing Line
The 7 and 7 Express (<7>) trains serve the entire IRT Flushing Line.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Flushing–Main Street 34th Street–Hudson Yards
Stations	22
Daily ridership	817,793
Operation
Opened	1915–1928 (between Times Square and Flushing–Main Street) September 13, 2015 (between 34th Street and Times Square)
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground (Manhattan, Western Queens and Main Street) Elevated (east of Hunters Point Avenue and west of Main Street, exclusive)
Technical
Number of tracks	2–5
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	625 V DC third rail

The IRT Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the A Division. Originally an Interborough Rapid Transit Company-operated route, the Flushing Line, as originally built, ran from Flushing, Queens, to Times Square, Manhattan; a western extension was built to Hudson Yards in western Manhattan, and the line now stretches from Flushing to Chelsea, Manhattan. It carries trains of the 7 local service, as well as the express <7> during rush hours in the peak direction.

It is shown in the color raspberry on station signs, the official subway map, internal route maps in R188 cars, and route signs on the front and sides of R62A subway cars. Before the line was opened all the way to Flushing, it was known as the Corona Line or Woodside and Corona Line. Prior to the discontinuance of BMT services in 1949, the portion of the IRT Flushing Line between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza was known as the Queensboro Line.

The Flushing Line has various styles of architecture, which range from steel girder elevated structures to European-style concrete viaducts. The underground stations have some unique designs as well. The designs include Hunters Point Avenue, which is in an Italianate style; Grand Central–42nd Street, which is a single round tube similar to a London Underground station; and 34th Street–Hudson Yards, which, with its deep vault and spacious interior, resembles a Washington Metro station.