List of streetcar lines in Manhattan

Last updated November 10, 2022

The following streetcar lines once operated in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.

List of lines

North-south lines

Lines related to Broadway are listed first, and then the table contains all other lines by their Lower Manhattan trunk (if applicable) from north to south.

Company (post-1911)	Name	From	To	Major streets	History
New York Railways	South Ferry and Vesey Street Line	South Ferry	City Hall	Trinity Place	became part of the Sixth Avenue Line and Eighth Avenue Line
New York Railways	Broadway Line	South Ferry	Central Park	Broadway and Seventh Avenue	opened by the Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad in 1864; leased by the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad in 1893; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; leased by New York Railways in 1911; replaced by New York City Omnibus Corporation buses on February 12, 1936 (now the M5 bus)
New York Railways	Lexington Avenue Line	Union Square, earlier South Ferry	Harlem	Broadway, 23rd Street, Lexington Avenue, 116th Street, and Lenox Avenue	opened by the Lexington Avenue and Pavonia Ferry Railroad; merged into the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1894; acquired by New York Railways in 1911; replaced by New York City Omnibus Corporation buses on March 25, 1936^[1] (now the M102 bus)
New York Railways	Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line	South Ferry	Harlem	Broadway, Seventh Avenue, 53rd Street, Columbus Avenue, 116th Street, and Lenox Avenue	opened by the Columbus and Ninth Avenue Railroad; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893 and merged in 1895; acquired by New York Railways in 1911; replaced by New York City Omnibus Corporation buses on February 12, 1936 (now the M7 bus)
New York Railways	Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line	Houston Street	Manhattanville	Broadway, Seventh Avenue, 53rd Street, Ninth Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue	eliminated in 1919
New York Railways	Broadway and University Place Line	City Hall	Central Park	Church Street, Greene Street, Wooster Street, University Place, and Broadway	replaced by the Broadway Line
Third Avenue Railway	Broadway Line	East 34th Street Ferry	Fort Lee Ferry	34th Street, First Avenue, 42nd Street, Broadway, and 125th Street	December 15, 1946 (now the M104 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	Kingsbridge Line	East Harlem	Marble Hill	125th Street, Amsterdam Avenue, and Broadway	June 22, 1947 (now the M100 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	Broadway and 145th Street Line	Harlem	Washington Heights	145th Street, Amsterdam Avenue, and Broadway	June 29, 1947
Third Avenue Railway	East Belt Line	South Ferry	59th Street, earlier East Harlem	South Street, Avenue D, 14th Street, and First Avenue	opened by the Central Park, North and East River Railroad in 1863; leased to the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad and Metropolitan Crosstown Railway in 1892; leased to the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; lease cancelled in 1908; bought by the Third Avenue Railway as part of the reorganized Belt Line Railway in 1913
Third Avenue Railway	Avenue D Line	City Hall	East 23rd Street Ferry	East Broadway, Columbia Street, Lewis Street, Avenue D, 14th Street, and Avenue A	discontinued early, since it was largely redundant with the Avenue B Line and East Belt Line
Third Avenue Railway	Avenue B Line	City Hall	East 34th Street Ferry	East Broadway, Avenue B, 14th Street, Avenue A, 24th Street, and First Avenue	opened by the Dry Dock, East Broadway and Battery Railroad; bought by the Third Avenue Railroad in 1897; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1900; lease cancelled in 1908; replaced by Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company buses on July 30, 1932 (now the M9 bus)
N/A	Avenue A Line	Williamsburg Bridge	East 23rd Street Ferry	Avenue A
Second Avenue Railroad	Astoria Line	Astor Place	East 92nd Street Ferry	Second Avenue, 86th Street, and York Avenue
Second Avenue Railroad	First Avenue Line	Astor Place	East Harlem	Second Avenue, 59th Street, and First Avenue
Second Avenue Railroad	Second Avenue Line	Worth Street, earlier City Hall or Peck Slip	East Harlem	Worth Street, Bowery, and Second Avenue	opened by the Second Avenue Railroad in 1853; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1898; lease cancelled in 1908; replaced by East Side Omnibus Corporation buses on June 25, 1933 (now the M15 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	Third Avenue Line	City Hall	Washington Heights	Bowery, Third Avenue, 125th Street, and Amsterdam Avenue	opened by the Third Avenue Railroad in 1853; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1900; lease cancelled in 1908; reorganized as the Third Avenue Railway in 1910; replaced by Surface Transportation Corporation buses on May 28, 1947 (now the M101 bus)
New York Railways	Fourth and Madison Avenues Line	City Hall	Harlem, earlier also East 34th Street Ferry	Centre Street, Bowery, Park Avenue, and Madison Avenue	opened by the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1832; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1896; leased by New York Railways in 1911; lease cancelled in 1920 but reinstated in 1932; replaced by Madison Avenue Coach Company buses on February 1, 1935 (now the M1 bus)
N/A	Fourth Avenue and Williamsburg Bridge Line	Williamsburg, Brooklyn	Grand Central Terminal	Bowery and Park Avenue	operated from 1904 to 1911 by the Metropolitan Street Railway
New York Railways	Sixth Avenue Line	Greenwich Village, earlier South Ferry	Central Park	Trinity Place, West Broadway, and Sixth Avenue	opened by the Sixth Avenue Railroad in 1852; leased by the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad in 1892; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; leased by New York Railways in 1911; replaced by New York City Omnibus Corporation buses on March 12, 1936 (now the M6 bus)
New York Railways	Sixth Avenue Ferry Line	Desbrosses Street Ferry	Greenwich Village	Watts Street, Varick Street, and Carmine Street	discontinued September 21, 1919
New York Railways	Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line	South Ferry	Manhattanville	Trinity Place, West Broadway, Sixth Avenue, 53rd Street, Columbus Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue	eliminated in 1919
New York Railways	Lenox Avenue Line	Central Park	Harlem	Lenox Avenue	became part of the Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line and Broadway and Lexington Avenue Line
New York Railways	Seventh Avenue Line	Greenwich Village, earlier Williamsburg, Brooklyn or City Hall	Central Park	Greenwich Avenue and Seventh Avenue	opened by the Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad in 1864; leased by the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad in 1893; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; leased by New York Railways in 1911; replaced by New York City Omnibus Corporation buses on March 6, 1936 (now the M10 bus)
N/A	Seventh Avenue and Fort Lee Ferry Line	Brooklyn Bridge	Fort Lee Ferry	Centre Street, Canal Street, West Broadway, Sixth Avenue, 23rd Street, Seventh Avenue, Broadway, and 125th Street
New York Railways	Eighth Avenue Line	South Ferry or Cortlandt Street Ferry	Harlem	Trinity Place, West Broadway, and Eighth Avenue	opened by the Eighth Avenue Railroad in 1852; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1896; leased by New York Railways in 1911; lease cancelled in 1919; merged into the Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway in 1926; replaced by Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation buses on November 12, 1935 (now the M10 bus)
New York Railways	Ninth and Columbus Avenues Line	Cortlandt Street Ferry	Morningside Heights	Greenwich Street, Washington Street, Ninth Avenue, and Columbus Avenue	split between the Ninth Avenue Line and Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line
New York Railways	Ninth and Amsterdam Avenues Line	Cortlandt Street Ferry or Christopher Street Ferry, earlier City Hall	Morningside Heights	Greenwich Street, Washington Street, Ninth Avenue, Broadway, and Amsterdam Avenue	opened by the Ninth Avenue Railroad in 1859; leased by the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad in 1892; leased by the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; leased by New York Railways in 1911; lease cancelled in 1919; merged into the Eighth and Ninth Avenues Railway in 1926; replaced by Eighth Avenue Coach Corporation buses on November 12, 1935 (now the M11 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	West Belt Line	South Ferry	Midtown	West Street and Tenth Avenue	opened by the Central Park, North and East River Railroad in 1863; leased to the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad and Metropolitan Crosstown Railway in 1892; leased to the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; lease cancelled in 1908; bought by the Third Avenue Railway as part of the reorganized Belt Line Railway in 1913
Third Avenue Railway	Tenth Avenue Line	West 42nd Street Ferry	Manhattanville	42nd Street, Amsterdam Avenue, Broadway, and 125th Street	November 17, 1946

East-west lines

Lines are listed roughly from east to west.

Company (post-1911)	Name	From	To	Major streets	History
N/A	Fulton Street Crosstown Line	Cortlandt Street Ferry or Barclay Street Ferry	Fulton Street Ferry	Fulton Street	1908
New York Railways	Chambers and Madison Streets Line	Pavonia Ferry	Grand Street Ferry, earlier also Roosevelt Street Ferry	Chambers Street and Madison Street	discontinued September 21, 1919 (now the M22 bus)
N/A	Cortlandt Street Line	Cortlandt Street Ferry or Broadway	Grand Street Ferry	Greenwich Street, Washington Street, North Moore Street, Beach Street, Canal Street, and East Broadway
Joint (NYR, TARS, BRT)	Brooklyn and North River Line	Desbrosses Street Ferry	Downtown Brooklyn	Canal Street, Manhattan Bridge, and Flatbush Avenue
Third Avenue Railway	Post Office Line	City Hall	Williamsburg, Brooklyn	Bowery, Grand Street, Essex Street, and Delancey Street
New York Railways	Canal Street Crosstown Line	TriBeCa	Chinatown	Canal Street
Third Avenue Railway	Grand Street Line	Desbrosses Street Ferry	Williamsburg, Brooklyn or Grand Street Ferry	Vestry Street and Grand Street
New York Railways	Metropolitan Crosstown Line	Desbrosses Street Ferry, earlier also West 14th Street Ferry and Union Square	Grand Street Ferry	Watts Street, Spring Street, and Delancey Street	discontinued September 21, 1919; restored from February 1, 1920 to May 20, 1931 by court order^[2]^[3]
New York Railways	Avenue C Line	Desbrosses Street Ferry, earlier Chambers Street Ferry	East 23rd Street Ferry, earlier Grand Central Terminal	West Street, Charlton Street, Houston Street, Prince Street, Stanton Street, Third Street, Avenue C, 17th Street, 18th Street, and Avenue A	discontinued September 21, 1919 (Served on Avenue C by M9 and Houston Street by M21)
New York Railways	Bleecker Street Line	Chelsea, earlier West 23rd Street Ferry	Broadway, earlier Fulton Ferry	Bleecker Street
New York Railways	Eighth Street Crosstown Line	Christopher Street Ferry	Williamsburg, Brooklyn or East Tenth Street Ferry	Christopher Street, Tenth Street, Eighth Street, Ninth Street, and Tenth Street	March 6, 1936 (now the M8 bus)
New York Railways	14th Street Crosstown Line	West 23rd Street Ferry	Williamsburg, Brooklyn, earlier also Grand Street Ferry	West Street, 14th Street, and Avenue A	April 20, 1936 (now the M14 bus) last NY Railways line converted to buses
New York Railways	17th and 18th Streets Crosstown Line	Greenwich Village, earlier Christopher Street Ferry	East 23rd Street Ferry	University Place, 17th Street, 18th Street, and Avenue A	1913
N/A	Christopher and 23rd Streets Line	Christopher Street Ferry	East 23rd Street Ferry	Greenwich Street, Washington Street, 14th Street, and Avenue A
New York Railways	23rd Street Crosstown Line	West 23rd Street Ferry	East 23rd Street Ferry or East 34th Street Ferry, earlier also Union Square	23rd Street	April 8, 1936 (now the M23 bus)
N/A	Grand Central Station and West 23rd Street Ferry Line	West 23rd Street Ferry	Grand Central Terminal	23rd Street and Park Avenue
Third Avenue Railway	28th and 29th Streets Crosstown Line	West 23rd Street Ferry	East 34th Street Ferry	11th Avenue, 28th Street, 29th Street, and First Avenue	leased to the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1896; lease cancelled in 1908
New York Railways	West 34th Street Pier Line	West 34th Street Ferry	Tenth Avenue	34th Street
New York Railways	34th Street Crosstown Line	West 42nd Street Ferry	East 34th Street Ferry	Tenth Avenue and 34th Street	April 1, 1936 (now the M16 and M34 buses)
Third Avenue Railway	42nd Street Crosstown Line	West 42nd Street Ferry	East 42nd Street Ferry or Long Island City, Queens; earlier also East 34th Street Ferry	42nd Street and Third Avenue	November 17, 1946 (now the M42 bus)
N/A	42nd Street and Grand Street Ferry Line	West 42nd Street Ferry	Grand Street Ferry	42nd Street, Tenth Avenue, 34th Street, Broadway, 23rd Street, Fourth Avenue, 14th Street, Avenue A, and Houston Street
New York Railways	53rd Street Crosstown Line	Ninth Avenue	Sixth Avenue	53rd Street	became part of the Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue Line, Broadway and Columbus Avenue Line, and Sixth and Amsterdam Avenues Line
Third Avenue Railway	59th Street Crosstown Line	Tenth Avenue	First Avenue	59th Street	opened by the Central Park, North and East River Railroad; leased to the Houston, West Street and Pavonia Ferry Railroad and Metropolitan Crosstown Railway in 1892; leased to the Metropolitan Street Railway in 1893; lease cancelled in 1908; bought by the Third Avenue Railway as part of the reorganized Belt Line Railway in 1913; replaced by Surface Transportation Corporation buses on November 10, 1946
New York Railways	86th Street Crosstown Line	Upper West Side	East 92nd Street Ferry	86th Street and York Avenue	New York and Harlem Railroad from 1920 to 1932;^[4] Bustitution on June 8, 1936 (now the M86 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	110th Street Crosstown Line	Fort Lee Ferry	East Harlem	125th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, and 110th Street
New York Railways	116th Street Crosstown Line	Morningside Heights	East Harlem	106th Street, Manhattan Avenue, and 116th Street	April 1, 1936 (now the M116 bus)
Third Avenue Railway	125th Street Crosstown Line	Fort Lee Ferry	East Harlem	125th Street	August 5, 1941 (no longer a separate bus route; served by the Bx15 and M60)
Union Railway	138th Street Crosstown Line	Harlem	Bronx	135th Street and Madison Avenue	July 10, 1948 (now the Bx33 bus in the Bronx)
New York Railways	145th Street Crosstown Line	Broadway	Lenox Avenue	145th Street	Originally operated by the Fort George and Eleventh Avenue Railroad
Union Railway	163rd Street Crosstown Line	Washington Heights	Bronx	155th Street	June 27, 1948 (now the Bx6 bus)
Union Railway	167th Street Crosstown Line	Washington Heights	Bronx	181st Street	July 11, 1948 (now the Bx35 bus)
Union Railway	207th Street Crosstown Line	Inwood	Bronx	207th Street	now the Bx12 bus

Related Research Articles

The General Motors streetcar conspiracy refers to the convictions of General Motors (GM) and related companies that were involved in the monopolizing of the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and subsidiaries, as well as to the allegations that the defendants conspired to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation.

The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway system, it forms the B Division of the modern New York City Subway. The original BMT routes currently form the J/Z, L, M, N, Q, R and W trains, as well as the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, with the IND B, D, and F using BMT trackage in Brooklyn. The M train enters the IND via the Chrystie Street Connection after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge, the Q, along with some rush-hour N trains enter the IND from the BMT 63rd Street Line and the R train enters the IND via the 60th Street Tunnel Connection. The Z train supplements the J in the peak direction during rush hours only. Prior to city ownership, the BMT services were designed with numbers, and the current letter scheme was developed as a continuation of the IND nomenclature as the IND and BMT systems were integrated.

The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. As part of the Dual Contracts, the IRT and BRT would build or upgrade several subway lines in New York City, then operate them for 49 years.

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange. It operated both passenger and freight services on its rail rapid transit, elevated and subway network, making it unique among the three companies which built and operated subway lines in New York City. It became insolvent in 1919 and was restructured and released from bankruptcy as the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation in 1923.

The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), founded 1852, was a streetcar system serving the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx along with lower Westchester County. For a brief period of time, TARS also operated the Steinway Lines in Long Island City.

The Bleecker Street Line was a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along Bleecker Street, Crosby Street, and Lafayette Street from the West 14th Street Ferry in Chelsea to the Fulton Ferry in the Financial District. It was the last horse car line in New York City, and was not replaced with a trolley line or bus route when it was abandoned in 1917.

The Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation (B&QT) was a subsidiary of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation that operated streetcars in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was created in 1929 to operate these routes, which had previously been operated by the BMT directly; its operations were transferred to the New York City Board of Transportation in 1940, and to the New York City Transit Authority in 1956.

The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, United States between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which all of its remaining lines were replaced with bus routes.

The Brooklyn and North River Line, operated by the Brooklyn and North River Railroad, was a trolley line in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Its route ran from the Desbrosses Street Ferry across Lower Manhattan via the Canal Street Crosstown Line, over a pair of tracks on the east side of the Manhattan Bridge, and to the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Operation in Manhattan and over the bridge was with conduit electrification, while in Brooklyn it used overhead trolley wire, switching at a plow pit.

The Metropolitan Crosstown Line was a surface public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, connecting the 14th Street Ferry and Desbrosses Street Ferry on the Hudson River with the Grand Street Ferry on the East River. It was owned by the New York Railways Company, and contained the Spring and Delancey Streets Line streetcars. The company was discontinued September 21, 1919 but restored from February 1, 1920 to May 20, 1931 by court order.

The Manhattan and Queens Traction Company, also known as the Manahttan and Queens Transit Company, was a streetcar company operating in Manhattan and Queens County, New York between 1913 and 1937.

The Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, sometimes called Washington Plaza or the Williamsburg Bridge Transit Center, is a major bus terminal and former trolley terminal located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, one block west of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278). It is situated by the boundaries of Broadway, Havemeyer Street, Roebling Street, and South 5th Street, south of the LaGuardia Playground. It contains five bus lanes, and serves as a terminal for numerous MTA New York City Transit Authority bus routes of Brooklyn and Queens that start and end their runs there.

The Q58 and Q58 Limited are bus routes that constitute a public transit line operating primarily in Queens, New York City, with its southern terminal on the border with Brooklyn. The Q58 is operated by the MTA New York City Transit Authority. Its precursor was a streetcar line that began operation in November 1899. and was known variously as the Flushing–Ridgewood Line, the Corona Avenue Line, and the Fresh Pond Road Line. The route became a bus line in 1949.

The Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line was a streetcar company that operated cars over the Manhattan Bridge between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. As the name implied, the fare was only 3 cents per ride.

The 86th Street Crosstown Line is a bus line in Manhattan, New York City, running mostly along 86th Street on the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. Originally a streetcar line, it now comprises the M86 Select Bus Service bus line.

References

Chicago Transit & Railfan Web Site: New York City Transit

↑ "Lexington Av. Gets Buses Wednesday". The New York Times . March 22, 1936. p. 39. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
↑ Stephen L. Meyers, Manhattan's Lost Streetcars, p. 58
↑ New York Times, Delancey Line Restored, January 31, 1920, page 15
↑ Meyers, Stephen L. (2005). Manhattan's Lost Streetcars. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Lexington Av. Gets Buses Wednesday". The New York Times . March 22, 1936. p. 39. Retrieved 21 March 2018.

[2] Stephen L. Meyers, Manhattan's Lost Streetcars, p. 58

[3] New York Times, Delancey Line Restored, January 31, 1920, page 15

[4] Meyers, Stephen L. (2005). Manhattan's Lost Streetcars. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]