Route bullets for the 3, N, 7, and D services
(clockwise from top left) on rolling stock

The New York City Subway system has 28 lettered or numbered route designations.^[1]

• The 1, C, G, L, M, R, and W trains are fully local, making all stops.
• The 2, 3, 4, 5, A, B, D, E, N, and Q trains have portions of express and local service.
• The J train normally operates local, but during rush hours it is joined by the Z train in the peak direction. Both run local, express or skip-stop on different parts of their route.
• The 6 and 7 are fully local, but during rush hours, express variants of the routes, designated by diamond-shaped route markers, are operated alongside the locals in the peak direction.
• The F has portions of express and local service, but during rush hours, an express variant of the route, designated by a diamond-shaped route marker, is operated alongside the local in Brooklyn in the peak direction.
• The letter S is used for three shuttle services: the Rockaway Park Shuttle, Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and 42nd Street Shuttle.

The subway normally operates 24 hours a day with five different service patterns: rush-hour, midday, evening, weekend and late-night. Each service has a table in its article to show what tracks are used and when. This article lists all the current services, along with their lines and terminals and a brief description; see Unused New York City Subway service labels for unused and defunct services.

In the New York City Subway nomenclature, numbered or lettered "services" use different segments of physical trackage, or "lines". The services that run on certain lines change periodically.

Time periods

The New York City Subway is one of the few subways worldwide operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The schedule is divided into different periods, 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 – 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday–Friday
  • (1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning, away from Manhattan in the afternoon)
• (2) middays – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday–Friday
  • (2a) middays in the peak direction
  • (2b) middays in the non-peak direction
• (3) evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday–Friday
  • (3a) early evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
  • (3b) evenings in the peak direction
  • (3c) early evenings in the peak direction – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• (4) weekends – 6:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Saturday and Sunday (weekends during the day)
• (5) late nights – 12:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., every day
  • (5a) weekday late nights
  • (5b) weekend late nights

Other symbols are derivatives and are defined based on the rules above:

• all times – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • all times except rush hours in the peak direction
  • all times except weekdays in the peak direction
• daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (4) above (all times except late nights)
  • daily except rush hours in the peak direction
  • daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5b) above (all times except weekday late nights)
• weekdays – criteria (1), (2), and (3) above (weekdays during the day)
• nights and weekdays – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5) above
  • weekdays and weekday nights – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5a) above
• nights and weekends – criteria (4) and (5) above
  • weekends and weekend nights – criteria (4) and (5b) above
• limited service during rush hours – criterion (1) above, but only for selected trains
  • limited service during rush hours in the peak direction
• service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction – opposite of criteria (1) above
  • limited service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction

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	Service pattern(s)
A Division (IRT)
	Broadway–Seventh Avenue Local[2]	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street	South Ferry	Operates at all times, fully local, making all stops
	Seventh Avenue Express[3]	IRT White Plains Road Line IRT Lenox Avenue Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line IRT Nostrand Avenue Line	Wakefield–241st Street	Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College New Lots Avenue (some rush hour trips)	Operates at all times, express on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line in Manhattan, and local elsewhere Operates fully local late nights
	Seventh Avenue Express[4]	IRT Lenox Avenue Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line IRT New Lots Line	Harlem–148th Street	New Lots Avenue Times Square–42nd Street (late nights)	Operates the full route at all times except late nights, express on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line in Manhattan and local elsewhere Short turns at Times Square–42nd Street late nights
	Lexington Avenue Express[5]	IRT Jerome Avenue Line   IRT Lexington Avenue Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line IRT New Lots Line	Woodlawn	Crown Heights–Utica Avenue New Lots Avenue (some rush hour trips and late nights)	Operates at all times; normally express on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan and IRT Eastern Parkway Line in Brooklyn and local on the IRT Woodlawn Line in the Bronx Skips 138th Street rush hours in peak direction. Extended to New Lots Avenue late nights Operates fully local late nights
	Lexington Avenue Express[6]	IRT Dyre Avenue Line IRT White Plains Road Line IRT Jerome Avenue Line   IRT Lexington Avenue Line IRT Eastern Parkway Line IRT Nostrand Avenue Line	Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Nereid Avenue (some rush hour trips)	Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (weekdays until 8:45pm) Bowling Green (evenings and weekends) East 180th Street (late nights)	Operates the full route (Dyre Avenue to Flatbush Avenue) rush hours and middays; with additional service to Nereid Avenue rush hours in the peak direction Short turns at Bowling Green evenings and weekends Express in Manhattan and on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line in Brooklyn Express in the peak direction between East 180th Street and East 149th Street-Grand Concourse in the Bronx rush hours only and local at all other times Operates as a shuttle (Dyre Avenue to East 180th Street) late nights
	Lexington Avenue Local[7]	IRT Pelham Line   IRT Lexington Avenue Line	Pelham Bay Park Parkchester (rush hours and middays)	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall	Operates at all times, fully local Some trains in a.m. non-peak direction short turn at Parkchester when the <6> operates. Short turns in p.m. peak direction at Parkchester when the <6> operates.
	Pelham Bay Park Express[7]	IRT Pelham Line   IRT Lexington Avenue Line	Pelham Bay Park	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall	Operates rush hours and midday only, in the peak direction Express on the IRT Pelham Line between Third Avenue and Parkchester and local elsewhere
	Flushing Local[8]	IRT Flushing Line	Flushing–Main Street	34th Street–Hudson Yards	Operates at all times, fully local
	Flushing Express[8]	IRT Flushing Line	Flushing–Main Street	34th Street–Hudson Yards	Operates rush hours and evenings only, in the peak direction Express between Queensboro Plaza and Main Street
	42nd Street Shuttle[9]	IRT 42nd Street Shuttle	Times Square	Grand Central	Operates at all times except late nights
B Division (IND/BMT)
	Eighth Avenue Express[10]	IND Eighth Avenue Line IND Fulton Street Line IND Rockaway Line	Inwood–207th Street Euclid Avenue (late night Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle)	Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue or Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard 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 Trains alternate between Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway with limited peak service to Rockaway Park Operates fully local late nights to Far Rockaway only with shuttle service between Euclid Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard
	Sixth Avenue Express[11]	IND Concourse Line IND Eighth Avenue Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line BMT Brighton Line	Bedford Park Boulevard (rush hours) 145th Street (middays and evenings)	Brighton Beach	Operates weekdays only, until 10:00 p.m. Operates express in Brooklyn and on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan; local on Central Park West/Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and in the Bronx Short turns at 145th Street during middays and evenings
	Eighth Avenue Local[12]	IND Eighth Avenue Line IND Fulton Street Line	168th Street	Euclid Avenue	Operates at all times except late nights, fully local
	Sixth Avenue Express[13]	IND Concourse Line IND Eighth Avenue Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line BMT West End Line	Norwood–205th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue	Operates at all times, express in Manhattan at all times, normally express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn and local elsewhere in Brooklyn Operates fully local in Brooklyn late nights Express on the IND Concourse Line rush hours in the peak direction and local other times
	Eighth Avenue Local[14]	IND Archer Avenue Line IND Queens Boulevard Line   IND Eighth Avenue Line	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer Jamaica–179th Street (some rush hour trips)	World Trade Center	Operates at all times, normally express on the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens and local elsewhere Operates local north of Forest Hills evenings and weekends Operates fully local late nights
	Queens Boulevard Express/Sixth Avenue Local[15]	IND Queens Boulevard Line IND 63rd Street Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line IND Culver Line	Jamaica–179th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue Kings Highway (some rush hour trips)	Operates at all times Operates express in Queens between Forest Hills–71st Avenue and 21st Street–Queensbridge and local elsewhere Some rush hour trains short turn at Kings Highway
	Culver Express[15]	IND Queens Boulevard Line IND 63rd Street Line   IND Sixth Avenue Line IND Culver Line	Jamaica–179th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue	Operates rush hours, peak direction only Operates express in Queens between Forest Hills–71st Avenue and 21st Street–Queensbridge and in Brooklyn between Jay Street–MetroTech and Church Avenue, and local elsewhere
	Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown[16]	IND Crosstown Line IND Culver Line	Court Square	Church Avenue	Operates at all times, fully local
	Nassau Street Local[17]	BMT Archer Avenue Line BMT Jamaica Line   BMT Nassau Street Line	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer	Broad Street	Operates at all times, normally fully local Operates skip-stop with the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction. Runs express from Myrtle Avenue to Marcy Avenue middays and rush hours in peak direction.
	14th Street–Canarsie Local[18]	BMT Canarsie Line	Eighth Avenue	Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway	Operates at all times, fully local Some Canarsie-bound trains short-turn at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues during the a.m. rush hour
	Sixth Avenue Local[19]	IND Sixth Avenue Line BMT Nassau Street Line BMT Jamaica Line BMT Myrtle Avenue Line	57th Street Essex Street (evenings and weekends) Myrtle Avenue (late nights)	Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue	Operates the full route weekdays, fully local Short turns at Essex Street evenings and weekends Operates as a shuttle (Metropolitan Avenue to Myrtle Avenue) late nights
	Broadway Express[20]	BMT Astoria Line   BMT Broadway Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line BMT Sea Beach Line	Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue	Operates at all times Normally operates via the Manhattan Bridge, express on the BMT Broadway Line south of Times Square weekdays, express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn, and local elsewhere Local in Manhattan weekends Operates via the Montague Street Tunnel late nights, fully local
	Second Avenue/Broadway Express/Brighton Local[21]	IND Second Avenue Line BMT 63rd Street Line   BMT Broadway Line BMT Brighton Line	96th Street	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue	Operates at all times, normally express in Manhattan and local in Brooklyn Operates fully local late nights
	Broadway Local[22]	IND Queens Boulevard Line   BMT Broadway Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line	Forest Hills–71st Avenue Whitehall Street–South Ferry (late nights)	Bay Ridge–95th Street	Operates the full route at all times except late nights, fully local Short turns at Whitehall Street late nights
	Franklin Avenue Shuttle[23]	BMT Franklin Avenue Line	Franklin Avenue	Prospect Park	Operates at all times
	Rockaway Park Shuttle[24]	IND Rockaway Park Branch of the IND Rockaway Line	Broad Channel	Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street	Operates at all times
	Broadway Local[25]	BMT Astoria Line   BMT Broadway Line	Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard	Whitehall Street–South Ferry	Operates during weekdays only until 11:00 p.m., fully local, making all stops
	Nassau Street Express[17]	BMT Archer Avenue Line BMT Jamaica Line   BMT Nassau Street Line	Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer	Broad Street	Skip-stop pair with J service during rush hours in the peak direction only

Future services

	Route	Line(s)	North terminal	South terminal	Service pattern(s)
	Second Avenue Local	IND Second Avenue Line	Harlem–125th Street	Houston Street (Phase 3) Hanover Square (Phase 4)	Will operate at all times, fully local, making all stops

Service variants

• The 6 service has a midday (2a) and rush hour (1a) diamond Bronx express service labeled <6>, in addition to 6 local service.^[7]
• The 7 service has a rush hour (1a), and evening (3c) diamond Queens express service labeled <7>, in addition to 7 local service.^[8]
• Overnights (5), the A train between 104th Street and Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard is replaced by a shuttle which originates at Euclid Avenue.^[10] This service has been labeled on the late-night map as (gray A) and on trains as (blue S).
• The F service has a rush hour (1a), diamond Brooklyn express service labeled <F>, in addition to F local service.^[15]

Several services operate shorter routes during lower ridership hours, but these are neither signed differently nor counted as separate services. Although service changes caused by General Orders for construction occur on most days during midday and overnight hours, and throughout most weekends, these changes are not counted as separate services.

Variants to a different terminal

Because of some terminal station capacity constraints, numerous services operate to a secondary terminal as well as their usual terminus during peak hours.

• Limited rush hour 2 trains operate to and from a different southern terminal (New Lots Avenue).^[3]
• Limited rush hour 4 trains are extended to and from New Lots Avenue.^[5]
• Limited rush hour 5 trains operate to and from two different northern terminals (Nereid Avenue and Gun Hill Road) and two different southern terminals (New Lots Avenue and Utica Avenue).^[6]
• Limited rush hour E trains operate to and from a different northern terminal (Jamaica–179th Street).^[14]
• Limited rush hour N trains operate from a different northern terminal (96th Street).^[20][26]
• Limited rush hour Q trains operate along different Brooklyn lines in the northbound direction (BMT Sea Beach and Fourth Avenue Lines).^[27]
• One rush hour R train operates to a different northern terminal (96th Street).^[22][28]
• Limited rush hour W trains are extended to and from 86th Street.^[25]

Event variants

The "2007 Holiday Shopper's Special", which ran on December Sundays, is a train of museum subway cars. This particular car is displaying the (former) S Special on its rollsign at the 23rd Street (Sixth Avenue) station.

The following lines run in special service or after sporting and other events:

• The 4 train has a downtown-only express from 161st Street–Yankee Stadium to Bowling Green after events at Yankee Stadium.
• The 7 train has a Manhattan-bound "Super Express" from Mets–Willets Point, operating express, and also bypassing Junction Boulevard, Hunters Point Avenue and Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue after New York Mets games weeknights and weekends at Citi Field, as well as after US Open tennis matches.
• The Holiday Nostalgia Train, which is made up of retired subway cars, runs Sunday mornings and mid-days from Thanksgiving until the Sunday before Christmas. For the 2022 holiday season, the train, signed as the 1 train, travels via IRT trackage between 137th Street and Chambers Street.^[29] In previous years, this train, marked as S | Special, runs via IND trackage to Second Avenue, with northern terminals at Queens Plaza and 145th Street.^[30] During Saturdays in December 2023, the IND version is back in the daytime, with 145th Street being the northern terminal.

Train frequency charts

Train intervals

The schedule offers trains every 3 to 5 minutes on the most used sections during rush hours. During other traffic periods, intervals range usually from 4 to 12 minutes or up to 20 minutes on outer sections. During late nights, only selected express services are operated and all late-night services usually run every 20 minutes.

Train times
Day of the week	Rush Hour AM	Midday	Rush Hour PM	Evening	Weekend	Late Night
Monday to Friday	6:30 AM – 9:30 AM	9:30 AM – 3:30 PM	3:30 PM – 8 PM	8 PM – 12 AM	—	12 AM – 6:30 AM
Saturday, Sunday, Holidays	—	—	—	—	6:30 AM – 12 AM

Train headways in minutes as of August 2023
Period	[2]	[3]	[4]	[5]	[6]	[7]	[8]	(42nd St.) [9]	[10]	[11]	[12]	[13]	[14]	[15]	[16]	[17]	[18]	[19]	[20]	[21]	[22]	[25]	(Fkln. Ave.) [23]	(Rock. Park) [24]
Rush hours	3	6-7	6-7	4-5	5-6	2-4	2-3	2-4	4-5	7-9	9-10	6-7	4	4-5	6-9	5-8	4-5	8-10	6-8	6-8	6-8	8-10	10	12-28
Middays	6	7-8	8-9	7-8	8-9	4	5	5	7-10	10	8	10	7-8	7-8	10	10	4-6	10	8	8	8	10	10	13-17
Evenings	10	8-12	12	10	10-12	10-12	5-8	5	10-12	—	12	10-12	6-10	8-10	8-12	12-15	7-12	12-15	10-12	8-12	12	10	12-15	15-20
Weekends	6-8	8-12	12	8-12	12	6-8	4-8	5	10	—	12	10-15	12	12	8	8-10	4-10	8-10	10-12	8-10	12	—	10-15	15-20
Late nights	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	—	20	—	—	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	—	20	20
The 3 train runs late nights Harlem–148th Street ↔ 42nd Street only. Between Crown Heights–Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue, 4 train operates during this time.[4] The 5 train runs late nights Eastchester-Dyre Avenue ↔ East 180th Street only. During rush hours, 5 train runs express between East 180th Street and Third Avenue–149th Street in the peak direction; this is the reason for the different intervals shown in the table.[6] Every other 6 train runs express between Third Avenue–138th Street and Parkchester from 06:30 until 12:30 only in inbound direction and from 12:30 until 21:00 only in outbound direction. Local trains terminate at Parkchester while express trains continue as locals to Pelham Bay Park during PM rush hours.[7] Every other 7 train runs express from 06:30 until 10:00 only in inbound direction and from 14:30 until 22:00 only in outbound direction.[8] The A train, except overnights, serves both the Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue termini approximately alternating; five daily trains originate/terminate at Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street during rush hours in the peak direction. Overnights, just the Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue terminus is regularly served, with the Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard terminus served by an A shuttle operating from Euclid Avenue.[10] Two F trains in the AM rush hour, and two in the PM rush hour, operate peak-direction express in Brooklyn between Jay Street and Church Avenue.[15] Every other J train is designated as a Z train during rush hours in the peak direction; both J & Z operate skip-stop between Sutphin Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue during these times.[17] The M train operates as a shuttle between Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue from 23:00 until 06:30, and on weekends and evenings between Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue and Essex Street[19] The R train operates between Whitehall Street and 95th Street during late nights.[22]

Trains per hour

This is a list of average train frequencies during different times of the day, measured in trains per hour (tph). This chart shows frequencies as of July 2023 based on the train intervals listed in timetables, with a margin of error of 2 tph.

Trains per hour
Period	[2]	[3]	[4]	[5]	[6]	[7]	[7]	[8]	[8]	(42nd St.) [9]	[10]	[11]	[12]	[13]	[14]	[15]	[15]	[16]	[17]	[17]	[18]	[19]	[20]	[21]	[22]	[25]	(Fkln. Ave.) [23]	(Rock. Pk.) [24]
Rush hours	20	9–10 [note 1]	9–10	14.5 [note 1]	14.5 [note 1] [note 2]	12–15	12–15	10–15	10–15	20	15 [note 3]	8	6–7	10	15 [note 4]	14.5	2 [note 5]	6–8	6	6	12–15	7–8	7.5	7.5	7.5	6-7	6	5
Middays, evenings, and weekends[note 6]	10	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	12	—	12	8 [note 7]	6	6-7.5	6	8	8	—	7.5	6-7.5	—	10	6-7.5	6	6	6	6	6	6
Late nights	3	3	3	3	3	3	—	3	—	—	6 [note 8]	—	—	3	3	3	—	3	3	—	3	3	3	3	3	—	3	3

1. 1 2 3 Some trains also go to New Lots Avenue during rush hours
2. ↑ Most trains go to Dyre Avenue, but a few go to Nereid Avenue
3. ↑ 7 to Lefferts Boulevard, 7 to Far Rockaway, plus five daily peak-direction trains to/from Rockaway Park
4. ↑ 12 to Parsons/Archer, 3 to 179th Street
5. ↑ 2 from Brooklyn in the AM, and 2 toward Brooklyn in the PM
6. ↑ Evening and weekend frequencies are the same as midday frequencies, with the following exceptions: <6> trains do not operate in the evenings or weekends. B and W trains do not operate on weekends.
7. ↑ 4 to Lefferts Boulevard, 4 to Far Rockaway
8. ↑ 3 for regular service to Far Rockaway, 3 for Lefferts shuttle

History

See New York City Subway nomenclature for a complete explanation; this is just a table of when each service has existed (and been signed for the public). Shuttles were SS until 1985, when they became S (which had been used for specials). See here for the colors used for shuttles in 1967; in 1968 all six became green, and in 1979 all shuttles became dark gray.

See also

• List of New York City Subway lines
• New York City Subway nomenclature
• Unused New York City Subway service labels
• Staten Island Railway

References