List of New York City Subway lines


The New York City Subway is a heavy-rail public transit system serving four of the five boroughs of New York City. The present New York City Subway system inherited the systems of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, and the Independent Subway System. New York City has owned the IND since its inception; the BMT and IRT were taken over by the city in 1940. The former IRT system is now known as the A Division, while the B Division is the combined former BMT and IND systems.
In the New York City Subway nomenclature, a "line" refers to the physical trackage used by trains that are used by numbered or lettered "services". Today, the division or company names are not used publicly, while the line names may occasionally be used. The services that run on certain lines change periodically, but the lines refer to static trackage.

Nomenclature

In the nomenclature of the subway, the terms "line" and "service" are not interchangeable with each other. While in popular usage the word "line" is often used synonymously with "service", this list will use the formal usage of the term "line."
A line is the physical structure and tracks that trains run over. Each section of the system is assigned a unique line name that begins with its original division. For example, the line under Eighth Avenue is the IND Eighth Avenue Line. Some lines have changed names, but this happens relatively infrequently.
By contrast, a service refers to the route that a train takes across the various lines. A service can operate along several lines and even along different divisions. For example, the service operates along the IND Queens Boulevard Line as well as the BMT Broadway Line and the BMT Fourth Avenue Line.
Each service is also assigned a color. Since 1979, each service's color corresponds to the line it primarily uses in Midtown Manhattan—defined as the trunk line. There are three exceptions: the IND Crosstown Line, which does not carry services to Manhattan, is colored ; the BMT Nassau Street Line, which runs only through Lower Manhattan, is colored ; and all shuttles are colored. The list of trunk lines and colors is shown in the table below.

Line listing

There are currently rail lines. The Archer Avenue Lines and the 63rd Street Lines are each classified as two separate lines due to their structure: both lines are able to serve two divisions on distinct sections of track.
In the list below, lines with colors next to them indicate trunk lines, which determine the colors that are used for services' route bullets and diamonds, as well as shuttle service lines. The opening date refers to the opening of the first section of track for the line. In the "division" column, the current division is followed by the original division in parentheses.
DivisionLineOpenedStructure
B 02Second Avenue LineManhattanunderground
B 04Fourth Avenue LineBrooklynunderground
B 06Sixth Avenue LineManhattan
Brooklyn
underground
B 08Eighth Avenue LineManhattan
Brooklyn
underground
A 42nd Street ShuttleManhattanunderground
B 63rd Street LineManhattanunderground
B 63rd Street LineManhattan
Queens
underground
B Archer Avenue LineQueensunderground
B Archer Avenue LineQueensunderground
B Astoria LineQueenselevated
B Brighton LineBrooklynunderground, open cut, embankment, elevated
B Broadway LineManhattanunderground
A Broadway–Seventh Avenue LineBronx
Manhattan
Brooklyn
elevated, embankment, underground
B Canarsie LineManhattan
Brooklyn
underground, elevated, at-grade
B Concourse LineBronx
Manhattan
underground
B Crosstown LineBrooklyn
Queens
underground
B Culver LineBrooklynunderground, elevated
A Dyre Avenue LineBronxelevated, embankment, open-cut, underground
A Eastern Parkway LineBrooklynunderground
A Flushing LineManhattan
Queens
underground, elevated
B Franklin Avenue LineBrooklynelevated, embankment, open cut
B Fulton Street LineBrooklyn
Queens
underground, elevated
B Jamaica LineBrooklyn
Queens
elevated
A Jerome Avenue LineBronxelevated, underground
A Lenox Avenue LineManhattanat-grade, underground
A Lexington Avenue LineManhattanunderground
B Myrtle Avenue LineBrooklyn
Queens
elevated, embankment, at-grade
B Nassau Street LineManhattanunderground
A New Lots LineBrooklynelevated
A Nostrand Avenue LineBrooklynunderground
A Pelham LineBronxunderground, elevated
B Queens Boulevard LineManhattan
Queens
underground
B Rockaway LineQueensat-grade, embankment, elevated
B Sea Beach LineBrooklynopen cut, elevated
B West End LineBrooklynopen-cut, elevated
A White Plains Road LineBronxelevated, underground

Inter-division connections

The following list shows the connections between the different divisions of the New York City Subway.

Purpose-built

These connections can be used by trains in revenue service:
This connection is not for revenue service due to the differing widths of the trains:
These connections are located within the subway's rail yards and are not intended for revenue service.
In some places, there are track connections within the same division that are unused in regular service.

Brooklyn

Many of the New York City Subway's lines have express tracks, unused in revenue service and generally only used for re-routes.

The Bronx

A majority of the New York City Subway is underground, but the following segments are located above ground level.

The Bronx

At minimum, in normal revenue service, all lines have two tracks, with one exception: the BMT Franklin Avenue Line has a single track between Franklin Avenue and Park Place.

Three-tracked portions

The New York City Subway has fewer triple track sections than it has quadruple track sections. These sections are listed below. The third track, when in use, is generally for peak-direction express service or reroutes, with exceptions noted below.
  1. IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from south of Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street to north of Dyckman Street and from north of 145th Street to north of 96th Street
  2. IRT White Plains Road Line from south of Wakefield–241st Street to east of Third Avenue–149th Street
  3. IRT Lenox Avenue Line at 135th Street – center track is not usable in revenue service
  4. IRT Jerome Avenue Line – entire line, except for Woodlawn
  5. IRT Dyre Avenue Line – entire line
  6. IRT Pelham Line – entire line
  7. IRT Flushing Line – from 33rd Street–Rawson Street to Flushing–Main Street
  8. IRT New Lots Line at Junius Street – center track is not usable in revenue service
  9. IND Fulton Street Line – from west of 80th Street to west of Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard; the western-most portion of this track goes to Pitkin Yard
  10. BMT West End Line – from Ninth Avenue to Bay 50th Street
  11. IND Concourse Line – from 145th Street to Bedford Park Boulevard
  12. IND Culver Line – from south of Church Avenue to Avenue X
  13. BMT Jamaica Line – from Marcy Avenue to Broadway Junction. Also, at 111th Street, the center track is not usable in revenue service.
  14. BMT Canarsie Line at East 105th Street – easternmost track is not usable in revenue service
  15. BMT Astoria Line – from east of Queensboro Plaza to south of Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard
  16. IND Crosstown Line at Bedford–Nostrand Avenues – middle track can be used to turn trains coming from either direction
  17. IRT 42nd Street Shuttle is operationally three tracks with one train on each; there is a fourth disused trackway that was disconnected in the 1960s.
Additionally, there are several pocket tracks in the subway where the line temporarily widens from two to three tracks, such as east of Eighth Avenue on the BMT Canarsie Line, and south of Court Square on the IND Crosstown Line.

Four-tracked portions

Quadruple-tracked portions of track are fairly common in the subway system. This makes it unique among most metro systems in the world, as most others only have two tracks per line. Generally, these portions are a pair of express and a pair of local tracks unless otherwise noted.
  1. Trunk lines:
  2. # IND Sixth Avenue Line between Broadway– Lafayette Street and 47th–50th Streets
  3. # IND Eighth Avenue Line between Chambers Street–World Trade Center and 168th Street, and again at Dyckman Street
  4. # IRT Lexington Avenue Line between Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall and 125th Street
  5. # IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line between Chambers and 96th Streets
  6. # BMT Broadway Line between Canal Street and 57th Street–Seventh Avenue
  7. # BMT Nassau Street Line at Chambers Street
  8. Branch lines:
  9. :Manhattan branches:
  10. :#63rd Street Lines at Lexington Avenue
  11. :#Chrystie Street Connection
  12. :#Manhattan Bridge
  13. :Queens branches:
  14. :#IND Queens Boulevard Line east of Queens Plaza
  15. :#IND Rockaway Line north of Jamaica Bay
  16. :#Archer Avenue Lines from Sutphin Boulevard and east
  17. :#IRT Flushing Line and BMT Astoria Line at Queensboro Plaza
  18. :Brooklyn branches:
  19. :#IRT Eastern Parkway Line
  20. :#IND Culver Line north of Church Avenue
  21. :#IND Fulton Street Line between Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets and Euclid Avenue
  22. :#BMT Brighton Line between Ocean Parkway and Prospect Park
  23. :#BMT Fourth Avenue Line north of 59th Street
  24. :#Manhattan Bridge
  25. :#BMT Sea Beach Line
The Bronx has no four-tracked lines. Pocket tracks are not included.

Defunct lines

The following New York City Subway lines are either entirely defunct or have major portions no longer in service. Defunct spur lines with one station, such as the South Ferry loops, are not included in this list, nor are surface transit lines.
DivisionLineBoroughOpenedClosedStructureStatus
A 02Second Avenue LineManhattanMarch 1, 1880June 13, 1942elevatedEntirely demolished
A
03
Third Avenue LineManhattanAugust 26, 1878May 12, 1955elevatedEntirely demolished
A
03
Third Avenue LineBronxAugust 26, 1878April 28, 1973elevatedEntirely demolished; had been replaced for a time by the Bx55 and then Bx15 Limited buses.
B 03Third Avenue LineBrooklynOctober 1, 1893May 31, 1940elevatedEntirely demolished
B 05Fifth Avenue LineBrooklyn1888–1890May 31, 1940elevatedEntirely demolished
A 06Sixth Avenue LineManhattan1878December 4, 1938elevatedEntirely demolished
A
09
Ninth Avenue LineManhattanJuly 1, 1868June 11, 1940elevatedEntirely demolished
A
09
Ninth Avenue LineBronxJuly 1, 1868August 31, 1958elevatedEntirely demolished, except for the two underground stations at Sedgwick Avenue and Anderson–Jerome Avenues in the Bronx
B Canarsie LineBrooklyn1865November 21, 1942at-gradeLine from Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway to Canarsie Pier replaced with a streetcar line, which itself was replaced by the B42 bus.
B Culver LineBrooklyn1875elevatedLine from Ditmas Avenue to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue taken over by the IND in 1954
B Culver LineBrooklyn1875May 11, 1975elevatedRemainder of line to Ninth Avenue abandoned, then demolished in 1985.
B May 31, 1940
b) April 26, 1956
elevateda) Line demolished west of Rockaway Avenue.
b) Remainder of line in Brooklyn demolished.
B Fulton Street LineQueensSeptember 25, 1915elevatedLine taken over by the IND in 1956, with the western two-block section rebuilt to connect with Grant Avenue.
A IRT trunk lineManhattan1904undergroundSeparated into the Broadway–Seventh Avenue, Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street Shuttle lines
B Lexington Avenue LineBrooklynMay 13, 18851889–1950elevatedLine west of Gates Avenue demolished
B Jamaica LineBrooklyn1885–1888July 3, 1916elevatedLine west of Marcy Avenue demolished
B September 10, 1977
b) April 15, 1985
elevateda) Line east of Queens Boulevard demolished.
b) Line east of 121st Street demolished.
Both segments were replaced with Q49 bus service, which itself was replaced in 1988 by the BMT Archer Avenue Line.
B Myrtle Avenue LineBrooklyn1888–18891944–1969elevatedLine west of Central Avenue through Broadway to Lewis Avenue abandoned. Remainder of line west of Lewis Avenue demolished.
B World's Fair LineQueens19391940at-gradeEntirely demolished

Vestiges of former lines