Hey, NYC iSchool, this is your iNews reporter, The Mighty Aszaviyo Ridez. Today, we’re talking about NYC Subways, and included in this article is a lot of information about the subways that you might not have heard of before!
The New York City subway opened up on October 27, 1904.
According to Wikipedia, “It’s also a rapid transit system serving all of the boroughs… Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, and Staten Island. It’s owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority. The New York City Subway is one of the world’s oldest public transit systems, one of the most used and the one with the most stations with 472 stations in operation (423 if stations are connected by transfers that are counted as single stations.
The system operated 24/7 service every day of the year throughout most of its history barring emergencies and disasters. By annual ridership the New York City Subway is the busiest rapid transit system in both the Western Hemisphere and the Western World as well as the 11th busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. The subway carried 2,027,286,000 unlinked, non-unique riders in 2023. Daily ridership has been calculated since 1985; the record, over 6.2 million, was set on October 29, 2015.
Even though the underground portions of the subway had yet to be built, several above-ground segments of the modern-day New York City Subway system were already in service by then.
The oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line, in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek, was in use in 1864 as a steam railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road.”
Here are the NYC Subway lines with their route information:
Broadway 7th Avenue Line: (1) Line: Broadway 7th Avenue Local, (2) Line: 7th Avenue Express Late Nights 7th Avenue Local, (3) Line: 7th Avenue Express late nights it runs between Times Square-42 Street and Harlem-148 Street Lenox Terminal in both directions
Lexington Avenue Line: (4) Line: Lexington Avenue Express Late Nights Lexington Avenue Local, (5) Line: Lexington Avenue Express Late Nights it runs between East 180 Street and Eastchester Dyre Avenue in both directions on weekends the (5) train runs between Bowling Green and Eastchester Dyre Avenue in both directions it goes to Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College on weekdays only, (6),<6> Line: Lexington Avenue Local, <6> trains run during rush hours in the peak direction. During the morning rush hours to Brooklyn Bridge City Hall and during the evening rush hours to Pelham Bay Park, <6> trains do not run on weekends. (6) trains going northbound either end at Parkchester-East 177 Street or Pelham Bay Park
Flushing Line: (7) Line: Flushing Local, <7> Line: Flushing Express, <7> trains run during rush hours in the peak direction. During the morning rush hours to 34 Street-Hudson Yards and during the evening rush hours to Flushing Main Street, <7> trains do not run on weekends
8th Avenue Line: A Line: 8th Avenue Express Late Nights 8th Avenue Local the A train going to the Rockaways mostly goes to Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard or Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue during rush hours it goes to Rockaway Park-Beach 116 Street except weekends, C Line: 8th Avenue Local during late nights the C train does not run, E Line: 8th Avenue Local Late Nights Queens Boulevard Local in Queens. During limited rush hours some northbound E trains go to Jamaica-179 Street where the F train ends otherwise to Jamaica Center-Parsons Archer all times
6th Avenue Line: B Line: 6th Avenue Express Runs only on weekdays until 11P the B train does not run on weekends, D Line: 6th Avenue Express, F, <F> Line: 6th Avenue Local F trains going southbound end at Kings Highway or Coney Island Stillwell Avenue <F> trains run during rush hours in the peak direction making only 2 trips. During the morning rush hours to Jamaica-179 Street and during the evening rush hours to Coney Island Stillwell Avenue <F> trains do not run on weekends, M Line: 6th Avenue Local Late Nights and weekends the M train runs between Delancey Street-Essex Street and Metropolitan Avenue-Middle Village in both directions The M train going northbound ends at Forest Hills-71 Avenue on weekdays only
Crosstown Line: G Line: Brooklyn Queens Crosstown Local
Nassau Street Line: J Line: Nassau Street Express The J train makes skip-stop service during rush hours, Z Line: Nassau Street Express The Z train runs only during rush hours in the peak direction making skip-stop service. During the morning rush hours to Broad Street and during the evening rush hours to Jamaica Center-Parsons Archer The Z train does not run on weekends
Canarsie Line: L Line: 14th Street Canarsie Local
Broadway Line: N Line: Broadway Express Late Nights Broadway Local via Whitehall Street and weekends Broadway Local, Q Line: Broadway Express Late Nights Broadway Local, R Line: Broadway Local Late Nights the R train runs between Whitehall Street-South Ferry and Bay Ridge-95 Street in both directions, W Line Broadway Local The W train runs on weekdays only it does not run on weekends and during limited rush hours the W train goes to Gravesend-86 Street in Brooklyn via 4th Avenue Local
Shuttles: 42nd Street Shuttle: Runs back and forth between Grand Central 42 Street and Times Square-42 Street in both directions, Franklin Avenue Shuttle: Runs between Franklin Avenue and Prospect Park in both directions, Rockaway Park Shuttle: Runs between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park-Beach 116 Street in both directions and during the summer it runs between Rockaway Boulevard and Rockaway Park-Beach 116 Street
Staten Island Railway: Runs Local all times during rush hours it goes Express. During the morning rush hours the Staten Island Railway Express train goes Local to New Dorp along with Bay Terrace and Oakwood Heights receiving Express service in the Saint George direction only before going Express the rest of the way to Saint George. And during the evening rush hours the Staten Island Railway Express train goes Express to Great Kills and Local the rest of the way to Tottenville. Also the new R211S cars assigned to the Staten Island Railway show the bullets on the LED Lights when it’s local it’s a light blue circle saying SI in the middle. And when it’s express it’s an orange diamond saying SI in the middle. It’s not a part of the New York City Subway but it is included on subway maps and offers free transfers to subway lines. Also, the Staten Island Railway Express train does not run on weekends.
Gabriel Ng, a 12th Grader at the iSchool, likes the subway system and has a YouTube channel about it as well! Here’s what he said about the subway system:
1: At what age did you have an interest in New York City subways?
Well for as long as I can remember I’ve been interested in the subway since when I was really little. In fact one of my earliest Subway memories was taking the B train. I think it was over the Manhattan Bridge and I see this must have been when I was like 3ish.
2: Does your dad have an interest in New York City Subways?
Not really to be honest but when I was younger I do remember he took some video of the subway for my brother Josh and I whenever he had to take the subway.
3: During Quarantine have you ever rode in the subway with your family?
Well during quarantine I didn’t really take the Subway because everything was remote and in fact I did not ride a train for over a year due to quarantine and my first train ride since the lockdown began in 2020 was in September 2021 when I started 9th grade.
4: Are there any other railfans that you have met before in person or ones that you haven’t met in person yet?
I’ve met quite a few other Railfans in person, one of these being GoGoSuprtoe during a Transit Museum event last year, Starboy Railfanning back in 2023, and the person who created the DJ Hammers Transport Channel on the R32 final run in 2022.
5: What are your favorite rail fans on YouTube?
I really like DJ Hammers Transport, FanTheRailsBC, and Mr. Railfan.
6: Do you have a favorite subway line?
I really like the A train because of the R211s.
7: Why is it your favorite subway line?
It’s my favorite because the trains on there— the new ones specifically— look really cool. I really like the sleek appearance and the digital displays, and it feels almost like something out of a sci-fi movie.
8: Do you get a lot excited when you see a train model on a line that you’ve never seen before?
I have very rarely seen trains running on lines that don’t usually use them. But if that does happen, I do kind of get excited, like last month when I saw an R179 on the E line on the very same day that it ran for the first time.
9: What is your least favorite thing about the New York City subway?
I’m not sure if I have any least favorite things about the subway itself, but if anything I guess it’s seeing the old trains. Even though there are some things that I do like about the old trains, I also feel like they just gotta go cuz they’re getting old and nothing lasts forever.
10: What do you love most about the New York City subway?
I love the trains a lot, and I also like some of the infrastructure as well. From time to time I like looking online at old photos of the subway and also learning about what went into planning certain lines.
Here are the links to my YouTube channel and Gabriel’s YouTube channel
