The B and Q Trains in Brooklyn

Today’s trains discussed are the B and Q Trains in Brooklyn, two different trains of two different color lines that join forces throughout Brooklyn. The B and Q enter Brooklyn in a brief and parallel manner before joining at Atlantic Terminal before riding all the way down to Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue. Throughout the borough, the two trains are unique in being probably the only trains that spend an equal fraction of their trip below ground and above ground. Below Flatbush Avenue, the trains represent an Eastern boundary of the subway line in Brooklyn. As the only trains in the area along their respective route, more commuters depend on the B and Q trains as the option of choice is limited. For these reasons, the B/Q trains are a different yet meaningful branch of the Brooklyn subways.

The B and Q trains do nothing together in any other borough but enter into Brooklyn in a similar fashion across the Manhattan Bridge. Once in Brooklyn, the two trains run roughly parallel to Flatbush Avenue underground in the Downtown area before arriving on the North Side of Atlantic Terminal. Once at Atlantic, the two trains join and ride with the Numbered Lines on Flatbush Avenue. The Numbered Lines turn off at Eastern Parkway while the B and Q trains turn off at the start of Ocean Avenue on Prospect Park’s Eastern Boundary. The B and Q come above ground in a trenched manner at this split. As the only trains on the park’s east side, the B and Q are a preferred branch for both residents and non-residents alike who look to enjoy Prospect Park. At this station there is also a shuttle subway service, the S line that allows one to connect with the Numbered or Broadway Junction bound trains.

The trains remain above ground but in a trench traveling halfway between Ocean Avenue and Coney Island Avenue. They remain entrenched until reaching the Newkirk Avenue station where they become an elevated train. The area traversed while the train is entrenched is known as Flatbush, one of Central Brooklyn’s most famous neighborhoods. Flatbush over the years has probably been one of the more overall representative neighborhoods of the entire borough. I will save Flatbush’s description for the posting on the 2 and 5 trains which end there. Once completely above ground after Newkirk Avenue, the B and Q trains enter Midwood which is roughly halfway between Prospect Park and Coney Island. Midwood is sometimes considered an extension of Flatbush and is a middle to upper middle class community comprised primarily of larger detached homes outside of Coney Island and Ocean Avenues and apartment buildings or commercial districts between Coney Island Avenue, Ocean Avenue, and the B and Q trains. The trains travel through Midwood and into Sheepshead Bay, a residential community near the subway and a popular boating area off the tracks near Emmons Avenue. The housing is moderately sized primarily consisting of attached and detached single family homes with occassional apartment buildings. The trains then leave Sheepshead Bay crossing onto Coney Island arriving in Brighton Beach before terminating (the B ends at Brighton Beach, the Q goes to Stillwell Avenue Terminal).

These neighborhoods traversed are the Eastern most neighborhoods in Southern Brooklyn serviced by subways as the B and Q are the Eastern most lines. For the most part, the train ride feels more like a Queens subway ride than a Brooklyn subway ride when comparing to the other trains in Brooklyn. I say this because the B and Q go through an area where the architecture is more resembling of Queens with detached housing, a finer separation of commercial and residential areas, and most importantly a larger area that is dependent on this particular subway branch. In Brooklyn one’s idea of a subway ride is going above a given avenue in a mixed commercial/industrial strip surrounded by densely populated attached residential housing. I say this because that is the impression one gets on all the other above ground trains in Brooklyn with the exception of the B and Q. The B and Q trains are also very local lines as express service has been eliminated due to budget concerns (I believe the Q used to be the express train here). Because of this, one can expect the B and Q to be rather crowded as people from the nearby neighborhoods of Mill Basin, Marine Park, Gerritsen, Flatlands, and Manhattan Beach require the trains as they are east of the lines and have no subway service at all. 

My personal recommendation and opinion for the B and Q trains is for a passenger not to ride them if attempting to go to Coney Island as they are a very local and crowded set of trains. Granted, I am not one of the South Central or Southeastern Brooklyn residents who is dependent upon the service and thereby don’t use the it on a daily basis but I can see from their layout and route that they are tedious to say the least. Additionally, the area served is comprised of nice communities but they resemble Queens more than they do Brooklyn. For that reason, one will not get the truest picture of the borough riding the trains. As far as tourism is concerned, aside from Coney Island and the boating possibilities at Sheepshead Bay, a passenger will find the area to be rather disappointing as it has the feel of a suburb. I am not however recommending that the B and Q are useless or less useful trains, they are very useful, an entire region of Brooklyn depends on them. Until the subways can be extended in this region of Brooklyn, these trains will continue to be useful and have a purpose.