New York City Subway services (RollOverTheFloor)

The New York City Subway system has 25 numbered or lettered route designations.

*The 1, 6, 7, C, G, L, M, R and W trains make all stops without any portion of express service on their entire routes.

*The 2, 3, 4, 5, <6>, <7>, A, B, D, E, F, N, and Q trains have portions of express and local service.

*The J train normally serves all stops, but during rush hours, it is joined by the Z in the peak direction. Both run skip-stop or express on different parts of their shared route.

Due to the subway operating 24 hours a day, there are five different service patterns. These are rush hour, midday, evening, weekend, and night service patterns.

Time periods

The New York City Subway is one of the few subways worldwide operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The schedule is divided into different periods of time, with each containing different operation patterns and train intervals.

The schedule is divided into different periods of time, with each containing different operation patterns and train intervals.

The MTA defines time periods as follows; these are used in articles (sometimes abbreviated by numbers in superscript or the symbol indicated):

• 1) rush hours - 6:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning between 6:00 and 10:30 a.m., away from Manhattan between 3:30 and 8:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday

• 2) middays - 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

2a) middays in the peak direction - 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

• 3) evenings - 8:00 p.m. to 12 midnight, Monday through Friday

3a) early evenings - 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

3b) evenings in the peak direction - 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

• 4) weekends - 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday and Sunday

• 5) nights - 12 midnight to 6:00 a.m., everyday

Service listing

Lines with colors next to them are the primary trunk line of the corresponding service; they determine the color of the service bullets and diamonds, except shuttles which are dark gray.

Current services

	Route	Line(s)	North terminal	South terminal
A Division (IRT)
1	Broadway – Seventh Avenue Local	IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street	South Ferry
		operates at all times, fully local, making all stops
2	Broadway – Seventh Avenue Express	IRT White Plains Road Line, IRT Lenox Avenue Line, IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, Clark Street Tunnel, IRT Eastern Parkway Line, IRT Nostrand Avenue Line	Wakefield–241st Street	Flatbush Avenue New Lots Avenue (limited rush hour trips)
		operates at all times, express on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line in Manhattan, and local elsewhere operates fully local at night
3	Broadway – Seventh Avenue Express	IRT Lenox Avenue Line, IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, Clark Street Tunnel, IRT Eastern Parkway Line, IRT New Lots Line	Harlem–148th Street	Times Square–42nd Street (nights) New Lots Avenue
		operates at all times, express on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line in Manhattan and local elsewhere short turns at Times Square – 42nd Street at night
4	Lexington Avenue Express	IRT Jerome Avenue Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, Joralemon Street Tunnel, IRT Eastern Parkway Line, IRT New Lots Line	Woodlawn	Utica Avenue New Lots Avenue (nights as well as limited rush hour trips)
		operates at all times; makes all stops on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line and express elsewhere extended to New Lots Avenue and operates fully local at night
5	Lexington Avenue Express	IRT Dyre Avenue Line, IRT White Plains Road Line, IRT Jerome Avenue Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, Joralemon Street Tunnel, IRT Eastern Parkway Line, IRT Nostrand Avenue Line	Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Nereid Avenue (alternate rush hour trips)	Flatbush Avenue (weekdays) Bowling Green (weekends) East 180th Street (nights) Utica Avenue (limited rush hour trips) New Lots Avenue (limited rush hour trips)
		operates the full route (Dyre Avenue to Flatbush Avenue) on weekdays short turns at Bowling Green on weekends normally express in Manhattan and on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line in Brooklyn Express in the Bronx between East 180th Street and Third Avenue-149th Street on the peak direction during rush hours only operates as a shuttle (Dyre Avenue to East 180th Street) at night
6	Lexington Avenue Local	IRT Pelham Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line	Pelham Bay Park Parkchester (rush hours)	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
		operates at all times, fully local short turns at Parkchester when the <6> operates
<6>	Lexington Avenue Local	IRT Pelham Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line	Pelham Bay Park	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
		operates rush hours and evenings only, in the peak direction express on the IRT Pelham Line between Third Avenue – 138th Street and Parkchester and local elsewhere
7	Flushing Local	IRT Flushing Line	Flushing–Main Street	34th Street–Hudson Yards
		operates at all times, fully local
<7>	Flushing Express	IRT Flushing Line	Flushing–Main Street	34th Street–HudsonYards
		operates rush hours and evenings only, in the peak direction express between Queensboro Plaza and Main Street
S	42nd Street Shuttle	IRT 42nd Street Shuttle	Times Square	Grand Central
		operates at all times except nights
B Division (IND/BMT)
A	Eighth Avenue Express	IND Eighth Avenue Line, Cranberry Street Tunnel, IND Fulton Street Line, IND Liberty Avenue Line, IND Rockaway Line	207th Street Dyckman Street (some peak direction rush hour trips) Rockaway Boulevard (night-time Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle)	Lefferts Boulevard or Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street (some peak direction rush hour trips)
		operates at all times, normally express between 168th Street and Euclid Avenue and local elsewhere operates fully local at night to/from Far Rockaway with shuttle service between Rockaway Boulevard and Lefferts Boulevard
B	Sixth Avenue Express	IND Grand Concourse Line, IND Eighth Avenue Line, IND Sixth Avenue Line, Chrystie Street Connection, Manhattan Bridge north tracks, BMT Brighton Line	Bedford Park Boulevard	Brighton Beach
		operates only on weekdays except nights runs express in Brooklyn and on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan; local on Central Park West in Manhattan and in the Bronx
C	Eighth Avenue Local	IND Eighth Avenue Line, Cranberry Street Tunnel, IND Fulton Street Line	168th Street	Euclid Avenue
		basically a short-turn A and operates fully local at all times except nights
D	Sixth Avenue Express	IND Grand Concourse Line, IND Eighth Avenue Line, IND Sixth Avenue Line, Chrystie Street Connection, Manhattan Bridge north tracks, BMT Fourth Avenue Line, BMT West End Line	Norwood–205th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
		operates at all times, fully local on the BMT West End Line in Brooklyn and express elsewhere operates fully local in Brooklyn at night operates fully local in the Bronx at night and on weekends
E	Eighth Avenue Local	IND Archer Avenue Line, IND Queens Boulevard Line, 53rd Street Tunnel, IND Eighth Avenue Line	Jamaica Center 179th Street (limited rush hour trips)	World Trade Center
		operates at all times, normally express on the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens and local elsewhere operates fully local at night
F	Sixth Avenue Local	IND Queens Boulevard Line, IND 63rd Street Line, IND Sixth Avenue Line, Rutgers Street Tunnel, IND Culver Line	179th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
		operates at all times runs express in Queens between Forest Hills–71st Avenue and 21st Street–Queensbridge and local elsewhere
G	Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local	IND Crosstown Line, IND Culver Line	Court Square	18th Avenue
		operates at all times
J	Nassau Street Local	BMT Archer Avenue Line, BMT Jamaica Line, Williamsburg Bridge, BMT Nassau Street Line	Jamaica Center	Broad Street
		operates at all times, normally fully local operates skip-stop east of Myrtle Avenue–Broadway and runs express west of that station with the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction
L	14th Street – Canarsie Local	BMT Canarsie Line, 14th Street Tunnel	Eighth Avenue	Rockaway Parkway
		operates at all times
M	Sixth Avenue Local	IND Queens Boulevard Line, 53rd Street Tunnel, IND Sixth Avenue Line, Chrystie Street Connection, BMT Nassau Street Line, Williamsburg Bridge, BMT Jamaica Line, BMT Myrtle Avenue Line	Forest Hills–71st Avenue Essex Street (weekends) Myrtle Avenue–Broadway (nights)	Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue
		operates the full route weekdays, fully local short turns at Essex Street on weekends operates as a shuttle (Myrtle Avenue – Broadway to Metropolitan Avenue) at night
N	Broadway Express	BMT Astoria Line, 60th Street Tunnel, BMT Broadway Line, Manhattan Bridge south tracks, BMT Fourth Avenue Line, BMT Sea Beach Line Montague Street Tunnel (nights)	Ditmars Boulevard Third Avenue–149th Street (limited rush hour trips)	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
		operates at all times express on the BMT Broadway Line between 57th Street – Seventh Avenue and Canal Street on weekdays, via the Manhattan Bridge, express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn at all times except nights, and local elsewhere via the Montague Street Tunnel at night, fully local local on the BMT Broadway Line between 57th Street–Seventh Avenue and Canal Street on weekends
Q	Broadway Express	IND Second Avenue Line, BMT Broadway Line, Manhattan Bridge south tracks, BMT Brighton Line	Third Avenue–149th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
		operates at all times, normally express on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge and local elsewhere operates fully local at night via the Manhattan Bridge
R	Broadway Local	IND Queens Boulevard Line, 60th Street Tunnel Connection, 60th Street Tunnel, BMT Broadway Line, Montague Street Tunnel, BMT Fourth Avenue Line	Forest Hills–71st Avenue Whitehall Street (nights)	Bay Ridge–95th Street
		operates the full route at all times except nights, fully local short turns at Whitehall Street from Brooklyn at night
S	Franklin Avenue Shuttle	BMT Franklin Avenue Line	Fulton Street	Prospect Park
		operates at all times
S	Rockaway Park Shuttle	IND Rockaway Line	Broad Channel	Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street
		operates at all times
W	Broadway Local	BMT Astoria Line, 60th Street Tunnel, BMT Broadway Line	Ditmars Boulevard	Whitehall Street
		operates only on weekdays except nights, fully local
Z	Nassau Street Express	Skip-stop clone of J service during rush hours in the peak direction only

IRT A Division services – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains are all 10 cars – 510 foot long. The 42nd Street Shuttle as well as night-time 3 and 5 trains are all 5 cars – 255 foot long.

IND and BMT B Division services – A, B, C, D, E, F, N, Q, R, and W trains are all 10 cars if they are 60 foot units – 600 foot long; or 8 cars if they are using 75 foot units – also 600 foot long. J/Z, L and M trains are 8 cars of 60 foot units only – 480 foot long. However, night and weekend M trains are 4 cars of 60 foot units – 240 foot long trains. G trains and the Rockaway Park Shuttle as well as night-time R trains are 4 cars of 75 foot units – 300 foot long. Rockaway Park Shuttle extends to 8 cars of 75 foot long units – 600 foot long only for weekend days in the summer. The Franklin Avenue Shuttle is 2 cars of 75 foot units – 150 foot long.

All of the three short shuttles provide One Person Train Operation at all times, except the Rockaway Park Shuttle on weekend daytime hours in the summer. Night-time 3, 5, as well as night/weekend G and M trains, also provide One Person Train Operation.

All lengths of each station platform in the New York City Subway system are equalized, except 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal on the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan, Kingston – Throop Avenues on the IND Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn, and Howard Beach – JFK Airport on the IND Rockaway Line in Queens.

Service variants

• The 6 and 7 has a rush hour (1a) and evening (3a) diamond Queens express service labeled <7>, in addition to 7 local service.

• The J and Z are identical routings, differing only by stations skipped during rush hours (1a); the C and W are basically short-turn versions of the A and N respectively.

• The A service has three physically separate southern terminals: Far Rockaway, Lefferts Boulevard and Rockaway Park.

• Lefferts Boulevard is served by a shuttle at night.
• Rockaway Park is served only in the peak direction during rush hours (and by the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times).

A number of services operate shorter routes during lower ridership hours, but these are neither signed differently nor counted as separate services. Special services caused by General Orders or construction, usually during off-peak hours, are also not counted.

Train frequency

Subway ridership is higher during the morning rush than all other times of the day because people go to work and school roughly at the same time. During both the morning and evening rush hour is when subway overall runs up to an average of approximately every 2 to 5 minutes (12 to 30 trains an hour). There are slightly less trains during the evening rush, however, as people do not leave work or school at the same time; some people leave work and school early, some people work overtime, and some people have after-school programs or evening classes. The C and W, not counting neither the Franklin Avenue Shuttle nor the Rockaway Park Shuttle, are the least frequent of all subway services during rush hour, as their wait times are not any less than 10 minutes apart (6 trains an hour).

Numerous subway services, like the C and W, run every 10 minutes (6 trains an hour) throughout the midday, evening, and weekend. Subway ridership during the off-peak, while on the rise as years pass, is still relatively low due to the outerboroughs being low density areas or lines that have services sharing the same number of stops most of their routes. The subway is plagued almost every night and weekend by track/signal work that requires a partial or complete shutdown of a line. During middays and weekends, if the weather is dry, all elevated structure portions of the subway are plagued with track/signal maintainers and inspectors, who put up flags which warn train operators to slow down and pass carefully through the maintaining and inspecting area of the line. They also affect local service on a three-track elevated line, forcing a service route to be partially or completely suspended, or in most cases, reroute onto the express track in one direction. The open-cut and embankment portions of the IND Rockaway Line in Queens and the BMT Brighton Line in Brooklyn are not plagued with track/signal maintainers and inspectors during middays but are so on a handful of nights and weekends, during which those lines are partially or completely shutdown. The Rockaway and Brighton lines, as well as any other ground-level outdoor subway lines, have speed restrictions during the season where leaves are falling onto the tracks as well as snowy/rainy weather. In general, all outdoor (ground-level or elevated or both) subway lines have speed restrictions depending on how bad the rainy/snowy weather gets.

Off-peak 7 and L headways are always shorter, as they are the system's two and only isolated routes; they run every 5 minutes (12 trains an hour) during this timeframe. Off-peak 1 and 6 headways are the same as the 7 and L, but only during middays and evenings because they have their own stops most of their routes. On weekends, the physically non-isolated 1 and 6 run every 10 minutes because of general orders requiring all trains on the four-track portions of the respective Broadway – 7th Avenue and Lexington Avenue corridors to merge and share a track in either one or all of the two directions. Off-peak E, F, and G headways are quite shorter, with trains up to about every 6 minutes apart (10 trains an hour) but only during middays and evenings, mainly because of ridership demands. The Queens end of the E and F routes are where riders have commutes via the buses in Jamaica by up to about a half-hour or so, even before/after taking an express subway train to Manhattan/from Manhattan, so every second counts for those riders; on the other hand, the G has its own stops most of its route and many of which have seen a large increase in ridership as years pass. On weekends, the E, F, and G each have 10 minute headways due to the aforementioned track/signal work and the requirement merging with other lines along their routes, however.

Trains per hour

Trains per hour
Period	1	2	3	4	5	6	<6>	7	<7>	42nd Street Shuttle	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	J	L	M	N	Q	R	Franklin Avenue Shuttle	Rockaway Park Shuttle	W	Z
Rush hours	18	10-12	9-10	12-15	12 [note1]	12	12	12	12	18	10-18 [note2]	8-10	6	10	15	15	10	6	18	9-10	9-10	10	10	6	6	6	6
Middays and evenings	12	6	6	6	6	12	N/A	12	N/A	12	6 [note3]	6	6	6	10	10	10	6	12	6	6	6	6	6	3	6	N/A
Weekends	6	6	6	6	6	6	N/A	12	N/A	12	6 [note3]	N/A	6	6	6	6	6	6	12	6	6	6	6	6	3	N/A	N/A
Nights	3	3	3	3	3	3	N/A	3	N/A	N/A	6 [note4]	N/A	N/A	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	N/A	N/A

1. [note1] Southbound, 6 trains an hour from Dyre Avenue and 6 trains an hour from Nereid Avenue or "every other train" from Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue, whereas all trains in the northbound direction head to Dyre Avenue (AM Rush); Northbound, 6 trains an hour to Dyre Avenue and 6 trains an hour to Nereid Avenue or "every other train" to Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue, whereas all trains in the southbound direction come from Dyre Avenue (PM Rush).

2. [note2]

3. [note3] 3 trains an hour to/from Lefferts Boulevard, 3 trains an hour to/from Far Rockaway, or "every other" train to and from either Lefferts Boulevard or Far Rockaway.

4. [note4] 3 trains an hour in both directions on regular full-length A service, 3 trains an hour in both directions on the Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle.