allow BMT service to operate through to 60th Street, and new connections were built between the 60th Street Tunnel approach and the west tracks at the east (former IRT) platforms, and the west (former BMT) platforms were closed. Once the project was completed, the IRT started using the Flushing Line only and the BMT started using the Astoria Line only. With the station's renovation, it became easier for passengers to transfer between the IRT and BMT lines. Instead of having to climb between the upper and lower level platforms, passengers were able to use cross-platform transfers. There was a crossover just west of the station which allowed the Astoria trains to access the Steinway tunnels. This was removed directly after the joint operation ceased in 1949. Much of the mezzanine was rebuilt as part of the project, including the pedestrian bridges leading to either side of Queens Plaza. On the north side of the lower level, a new window wall was constructed. After the end of BMT/IRT dual service, the BMT's Astoria Shuttle was replaced with service from the 2 Fourth Avenue Line (later the RR train, then the R train), operating from Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard to Bay Ridge–95th Street in Brooklyn at all times. the New York City Board of Transportation announced that platforms on the Flushing Line would be lengthened to 11 IRT car lengths. With the exception of the Queensboro Plaza station, which was already long, the platforms were only able to fit nine 51-foot-long IRT cars beforehand. The platforms at the other Flushing Line stations were extended in 1955–1956 to accommodate 11-car trains. However, nine-car trains continued to run on the 7 route until 1962, when they were extended to ten cars. With the opening of the 1964 New York World's Fair, trains were lengthened to eleven cars. In 1964, the abandoned northern half of the Queensboro Plaza station was demolished. One set of crossovers remains on the upper level as the Flushing Line's only connection to the rest of the system. This connection is used for non-revenue moves, specifically to transfer subway cars to the Coney Island Shops for repairs, to transfer new cars to the Flushing Line, or to move rolling stock to or from the Flushing line. In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. The R train's northern terminal was swapped with that of