Riding Every NYC Subway Line and Rating it | BMT Edition

In this video, we will continue where we left off and take the B Division of the NYC Subway. Specifically, the BMT, or the services from J to Z.

Pictures

[jointransitassociation]

Note: Almost every NYC Subway line in this series was done in multiple parts. I did this to get the videos out faster, and so that there won't be an "outlier" experience. After all, basing my ratings on only one ride isn't fair.

[aquapoweros]

I had a dream once and it was that you finished this series. My dream officially came true today.

[noahnorman]

Oh boy, the long awaited BMT… I can’t wait to hear JTA tear apart every single line for how so infrequent and slow they are!

[Powerscom]

Bro didn’t hold back against the W train 😭😭

[qjones]

2:55 Ive always referred to it as Myrtle Broadway and not Myrtle junction

[saulschlapik]

4:43 That's actually the Sands St. complex in downtown Brooklyn. It was torn down in 1944 when the elevated trains were removed from the Brooklyn Bridge.

[JavierVelez]

Great series man. If you’re in Lower Manhattan, take the 4 or 5 train like you said. If you want shorter wait times, I highly suggest taking the L or the 7 train. It’s no surprise that the R and W are two of the worst lines in the entire system like you said, especially when talking about two of the sharpest curves in entire system that they both run through. But one thing I’ll give the R is the R160s that run on the line, but then again, that’s not saying much.

[boguette_]

Also, I think that the Q should deserve higher ranking. During weekends it's the only line that serves Brighton and many neighborhoods in south Brooklyn. Yes the frequency is bad, but, it lives up to it because the only bus line that almost runs parallel with it is B68. I think usefulness should be at least a 9 or 9.5. And for the comfort, I actually quite like the rocking of the trains on Broadway. I think of comfort as warm lighting and having a seat. I hate R46 but love them because of the sand-colored wallpaper.

[klmnopqrs]

I think the J train usefulness score should have been a 9 or 9.5 because it connects the entirety of southeast Queens to Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. Since we have no rapid transit and the lirr too expensive for daily use almost everyone has to take a bus to jamaica center to get literally anywhere. I have to take the q85 daily almost it's entire 45 minute long route to jamaica center just to get the J to either alabama to take the b12 or to broadway junction to transfer to the a/c. Without it it'd be hellish for so many people because we'd have to transfer from bus to bus to bus and it would take hours.

[adrianwitzburg]

Nice as always! I’ve been waiting this for months! Definitely worth the wait!

Also, I’d like a video of how to improve the Broadway Line, due to how bad it is, especially that the MTA put the oldest rolling stock on 3 of the 4 lines covering it.

[ikal]

you should do the three other metros in the region in the sequel to this, JFK airtrain, PATH, and the Staten Island Railway

[Reformperson]

The City hall S curve is not only where you will find loud ear piercing screeches but also the Cresent St S Curve as well which has J Trains going super slow because of those extremely sharp curves.

Now with the Broadway Line the Astoria Line has major flaws on people wanting that express service but it’s better for the N and Q to go to 96 St and the R to go to Astoria. That solves Dekalb Junction merging problems also.

With the Nassau St line the reason why the J line frequencies are so garbage is because of the Z. Skip Stop service is absolutely useless and there are Residents that live near the BMT Jamaica Line call for the elimination of the Z line to boost J service.

With the L line being the most useful in the BMT the only thing it needs is tail tracks after 8th Ave and an expanded Atlantic Ave for shorturns for the L to see 30-33tph.

The scores for the most useful in each division

IRT: 7
IND: G
BMT: L

[danielsamuels]

You should totally do a video of fixing the merge at 34th Street, Herald Square.

[DistrosProjects]

The only time the R is useful in lower Manhattan is if the 4/5/6 are running with delays or are overcrowded. In my experience of getting from Manhattan to Brooklyn, the R (along with the rest of the Broadway line) is usually not as crowded as the other lines because it is slow and no one wants to take it. The R (*very* unfortunately) also provides one of the few ways to go between the IND and IRT/other BMT lines in Downtown Brooklyn because of close-proximity stations not having free transfers (Fulton G/Lafayette C/Barclays, Hoyt/Hoyt Schermerhorn, Jay Street/Borough Hall). In the case of Jay Street and Borough Hall, you can take the R train, but thanks to the extraordinarily long transfer, dangerously narrow island platforms (I can only imagine how dangerous they are if you're in a wheelchair, and Jay is an "accessible" station!), and curves in the tracks, it is often faster to walk *even if the R train is in the station*. Those two stations not having a direct passageway between them is acceptable, but no free out-of-system transfer is ridiculous.

[falanded]

i LOVE my ears bleeding when i take the w 😍

[vlade]

8 minutes is too long of a wait?! New Yorkers are highly impatient

[nickberis]

Good stuff I really enjoyed watching and listening to you

[TranscendentAzure]

It's wild how much this made me realize that the current BMT lines really do have some insane decisions working against their peak performance (with the L being excused somewhat). The N merge versus running the Broadway Locals to Astoria and Expresses to 2nd Ave, the numerous curves that need to be addressed with lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn on the R/Broadway Locals, DeKalb Junction™, the entirety of the Z train and the continued aged design of the J...

The Broadway Express bit especially bugs me because it has extreme amounts of potential considering the express runs along 4th Avenue in Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge to then serve some of the most diverse and important stations in Manhattan. An express service should be the one that takes on the role of the Staten Island Forest Avenue line due to how theoretically good that run should be but those headways and these weird little inconsistencies in planning and route execution...

[sleeeeeepin]

bro.. every 6-8 mins is literally not bad 😭😭

[mtarailfanersaviation]

bro the only lines that I avoid is the R and W because I’m not trying to get my eardrums destroyed, (bleeding) so yeah I’m avoiding those two