Early history

The current service is co-extensive with the BMT Franklin Avenue Line. It parallels Franklin Avenue, hence the shuttle's name (and the name of the line). It was originally a part of the mainline of what is now the BMT Brighton Line and opened as part of that steam railroad line in 1878.^[6][7][8]

The Franklin Avenue Line was established as a discrete route on August 1, 1920, when the Brighton Beach mainline was shifted to the new tunnel connecting Prospect Park station with the Fourth Avenue Subway at DeKalb Avenue station. Subway trains from the BRT Broadway Line in Manhattan and elevated trains from Franklin Avenue began sharing operations to Coney Island.^[9][10] The subway operations became the full-time service, and the Franklin Avenue trains provided a variety of scheduled services, based on day of the week, time of day, and even seasonal variations, reverting to shuttle service at other times.^[10]

After the city gained ownership of the line in 1940, Brighton–Franklin (labelled 7 by the BMT) services gradually declined. A major blow to through service viability occurred in 1954 when the D train of the IND Division was extended to Coney Island via the Culver Line, depriving the Franklin of a major source of transfer traffic, consisting of passengers from Harlem and the Bronx, who now had a more direct route to Coney Island.^[10][11]

Truncation

Brighton–Franklin Sunday express service ended after the 1956 summer season, though it continued for several years as a summer-only local. The last through service, on Saturdays, ran on February 16, 1963 in advance of new BMT schedules in effect the next day,^[12] resulting in the 7 Franklin Avenue Line becoming a full-time shuttle. On November 1, 1965, when R27s started going into service, this service was named SS, and in 1985, when the practice of using double letters was eliminated, this service became the S.^[10][11] However, some trains from the 1960s to 1980s continued to use the BMT 7 signage. ^[13][14][15]

On December 1, 1974, a southbound shuttle train of R32s was approaching the tunnel portal en route from Franklin Avenue when it derailed on the crossover at Empire Blvd. and smashed into the same place where BRT car 100 had hit in the Malbone Street Wreck. This derailment resulted in some injuries, with R32 car 3668 damaged beyond repair, but there were no reported fatalities, because time signals limit the speed of trains coming down the hill from Crown Heights.^[10]

Deterioration and renovation

Alternate SF bullet, displayed on the MTA website and in station advertisement displays

In 1981, the MTA proposed abandoning the service under the failed Program for Action. At the time, only 10,000 passengers used the shuttle per day, and in addition, the Franklin Avenue Line was severely deteriorated. It was proposed that additional B48 bus service along nearby Franklin Avenue could substitute for the line.^[10] During the winter, the line would often be closed because there was fear that trains would derail. Stations were in horrible condition; portions of the wooden platforms were sealed off because they had burned or collapsed.^[16][17] In January 1982, the line needed to close for emergency repair work because a retaining wall along the line was in danger of collapse.^[18]

In the 1990's, the term "Ghost Train" was coined for the Shuttle due to its increasing deterioration. It was shrunk in size to only two cars, and the Dean Street station, which only had 50 paying riders per day, was closed in 1995 due to extensive fare evasion.^[10][19] The entire line was under consideration for abandonment, but community leaders were opposed to the move. They showed up to town hall meetings, news conferences and they sat down with transit officials. They also formed the Committee to Save the Franklin Avenue Shuttle. The coalition included the Straphangers Campaign, a local church, local community boards and the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. They argued that subway station repair work occurred elsewhere, while no attention was paid to the Franklin Avenue Shuttle.^[20]

In the end they convinced the New York State Assembly to force the MTA to rebuild rather than abandon the line, and as a result most of the supporting infrastructure and stations were completely rehabilitated for 18 months, between July 1998 and October 1999 at a cost of $74 million.^[5][9][21] While the closure of the line started in July 1998, work began in September 1997.^[22] During the renovation, a temporary shuttle bus and the B48 bus replaced train service. The line reopened on October 18, 1999, three months ahead of schedule.^[9][21][23]

As of 2008, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle is the most punctual train in the New York City Subway system with a 99.7 percent on-time average. The shuttle averages 20,000 riders per day.^[24]