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 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 – 6:30a.m. to 9:30a.m. and 3:30p.m. to 8:00p.m., Monday–Friday
(1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning, away from Manhattan in the afternoon)
(2) middays – 9:30a.m. to 3:30p.m., Monday–Friday
(2a) middays in the peak direction
(2b) middays in the non-peak direction
(3) evenings – 8:00p.m. to 12:00a.m., Monday–Friday
(3a) early evenings – 8:00p.m. to 9:30p.m.
(3b) evenings in the peak direction
(3c) early evenings in the peak direction – 8:00p.m. to 9:30p.m.
(4) weekends – 6:30a.m. to 12:00a.m., Saturday and Sunday (weekends during the day)
(5) late nights – 12:00a.m. to 6:30a.m., every day
(5a) weekday late nights
(5b) weekend late nights
Other symbols are derivatives and are defined based on the rules above:
– 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
24 hours a day, except rush hours in the peak direction
24 hours a day, except weekdays in the peak direction
daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (4) above (all times except late nights)
daytime hours only, 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)
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.
Operates 24 hours a day; Makes express stops in Manhattan (between 96th and Chambers Streets) and all stops in the Bronx and Brooklyn during daytime hours; Makes all stops along the full route during overnight hours.
Operates 24 hours a day. Operates along the full route during daytime hours; makes express stops in Manhattan (between 96th and Chambers Streets) and all stops in Brooklyn. Short turns at 34th Street-Penn Station during overnight hours and does not operate to or from New Lots Avenue.
Operates 24 hours a day; Makes express stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn and all stops in the Bronx during daytime hours (skips 138th Street during rush hours in the peak direction; Extended beyond Utica Avenue to and from New Lots Avenue and makes all stops during overnight hours (skips Hoyt Street in Brooklyn).
Operates 24 hours a day. Operates along the full route (between Dyre Avenue and Flatbush Avenue) during weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings; Makes express stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn (between Borough Hall and Franklin Avenue and all stops in the Bronx (makes express stops in the Bronx between East 180th Street and Third Avenue–149th Street during rush hours in the peak direction; Additional service operates to and from NereidAvenue during rush hours in the peak direction instead of Dyre Avenue. Short turns at Bowling Green during weekday evenings and all day on weekends and does not operate to or from Flatbush Avenue; Operates as a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street during overnight hours.
Operates 24 hours a day. Makes all stops along the full route; When the ⟨6⟩ is operating, 6 Local trains short turn at Parkchester in the Bronx during weekday rush hours, middays and evenings; peak direction service does not operate to or from Pelham Bay Park.
Operates weekday rush hours and middays in the peak direction only. Operates along the full route and makes express stops in the Bronx (between Parkchester and Third Avenue–138th Street and all stops in the Bronx.
Operates weekday rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction only. Makes express stops in Queens between Main Street and 74th Street–Broadway and all stops in Manhattan.
Operates weekdays only, until 10:00PM 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 limited middays and evenings.
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.
Operates at all times, normally express on the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens and local elsewhere. Operates local north of Forest Hills weekday evenings and weekends. Operates fully local late nights.
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 rush hours and middays in the peak direction.
Operates the full route weekdays, fully local. Short turns at Essex Street weekday evenings and all day weekends. Operates as a shuttle (Metropolitan Avenue to Myrtle Avenue) late nights.
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.
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 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]
One rush hour R train operates to a different northern terminal (96th Street).[22][27]
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 Holiday Nostalgia Train, which is made up of retired subway cars, runs on weekends during the Christmas holiday season. The pre-2022 version of the train, marked as S | Special, ran via IND trackage to Second Avenue, with northern terminals at either Queens Plaza or 145th Street and ran on Sunday mornings and mid-days from Thanksgiving until the Sunday before Christmas.[28] For the 2022 holiday season, the train, signed as the 1 train, traveled via IRT trackage between 137th Street and Chambers Street.[29] During Saturdays in December 2023, the IND version was 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.
The 3 train runs late nights Harlem–148th Street ↔ 34th Street-Penn Station 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 p.m. 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 Howard Beach - JFK Airport termini approximately alternating; during rush hours, very limited service terminates or ends at "Euclid Avenue". Overnights, just the Howard Beach terminus serves the entire route, with Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard being served by an A shuttle operating from Euclid Avenue.[10]
Two F trains in the a.m. rush hour, and two in the p.m. 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 based on the train intervals listed in timetables, with a margin of error of 2 tph.
↑ 2 from Brooklyn in the AM, and 2 toward Brooklyn in the PM
↑ 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.
↑ Trains alternate between Howard Beach and Lefferts Boulevard
↑ 3 for Howard Beach, 3 for Lefferts Boulevard 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.
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