N (New York City Subway service)

Broadway Express
An Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard-bound N train of R46s leaving 30th Avenue
Note: Dashed red line shows late night service via the Montague Street Tunnel. Dashed pink line shows limited rush hour service to/from 96th Street.
Northern end	Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (all times) 96th Street–Second Avenue (limited rush hour service)
Southern end	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Stations	28 (weekdays) 32 (weekends) 45 (late night service) 22 (limited service)
Rolling stock	176 R46s (22 trains) 72 R68s (9 trains) 16 R68As (2 trains) (Fleet shared with the )[1] (Rolling stock assignments subject to change)
Depot	Coney Island Yard
Started service	June 22, 1915; 106 years ago (1915-06-22)
Route map Legend  N  ​ W  Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard Astoria Boulevard 30th Avenue Broadway 36th Avenue 39th Avenue ​ Main Street via Flushing Queensboro Plaza ​ Hudson Yards via Flushing Forest Hills via Queens Boulevard Queens Manhattan Lexington Avenue–59th Street Fifth Avenue–59th Street planned Second Avenue Subway  Q  ( N   R  limited rush) 96th Street 86th Street 72nd Street planned Second Avenue Subway ​ Jamaica via 63rd Street Lexington Avenue–63rd Street ​ Downtown & Brooklyn via 6th Avenue 57th Street–Seventh Avenue 49th Street ( northbound) Times Square–42nd Street switches to express tracks during weekdays 34th Street–Herald Square 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Eighth Street–New York University Prince Street daytime via Manhattan Bridge late nights via Lower Manhattan Canal Street ​ Uptown & the Bronx via 6th Avenue City Hall Cortlandt Street Rector Street Whitehall Street–South Ferry  W  weekdays (  R  late nights) no regular service via Nassau Street Montague Tunnel Manhattan Brooklyn Court Street Jay Street–MetroTech Myrtle Avenue DeKalb Avenue ​ Brighton Beach & Coney Island via Brighton Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Union Street Ninth Street Prospect Avenue 25th Street 36th Street Coney Island via West End 45th Street 53rd Street 59th Street Bay Ridge via 4th Avenue Eighth Avenue ( northbound) Fort Hamilton Parkway New Utrecht Avenue 18th Avenue 20th Avenue Bay Parkway Kings Highway Avenue U 86th Street  W  (limited rush hours) Manhattan & the Bronx via West End ​ Manhattan & Queens via Culver or Brighton Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue  N   D   F   <F>   Q  Legend Lines used by the and Other services sharing tracks with the and Unused lines, connections, or service patterns  N  Termini of services Cross-platform interchange Platforms on different levels This diagram: view talk

The N Broadway Express^[2] is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored yellow, since it uses the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan.^[3]

The N operates at all times between Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn, via the BMT Astoria Line in Queens, Broadway Line in Manhattan, the south side of the Manhattan Bridge, and the BMT Fourth Avenue and Sea Beach Lines in Brooklyn. North of 57th Street, limited rush hour service operates via the Second Avenue Subway, originating and terminating at 96th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan instead of Ditmars Boulevard.^[4][a]

During the daytime on weekdays, the N runs express between 34th Street–Herald Square in Manhattan and 59th Street in Brooklyn and local elsewhere. Local service in Manhattan is provided by the W, which is internally staffed and scheduled as part of the N.^[6] Select rush-hour N trains in the reverse-peak direction provide regular express service in Manhattan but stop at DeKalb Avenue and operate locally on the Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn.^[7][8][b] Weekend daytime service is the same as weekday service, except that the N makes all stops in Manhattan between Herald Square and Canal Street. During late nights, the N makes all stops along its entire route and uses the Montague Street Tunnel to travel between Manhattan and Brooklyn.^[c]

The N was originally the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation's 4 service, running along the BMT Sea Beach Line to the Manhattan Bridge. The 4 used the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan from 1915 to 1917, after which it ran express on the BMT Broadway Line. The 4 became the N in 1961. The N ran local in Queens along the IND Queens Boulevard Line to Forest Hills–71st Avenue from 1976 until 1987, when it switched terminals with the R. From 1986 to 2004, reconstruction on the Manhattan Bridge forced the N to run local on the Broadway Line via the Montague Street Tunnel.

Service history[]

Original designation for the Sea Beach Line

Before 1970[]

1967–1979 bullet

A NX service used in 1967–68

The route that is now the N was originally BMT service 4, known as the Sea Beach Line or Sea Beach Express.^[11]

On June 22, 1915, the current BMT Sea Beach Line opened, replacing a street level "el" that branched off of the Fifth Avenue El with the former BMT West End Line. Originally, it used the south tracks of the Manhattan Bridge, which at that time connected to the BMT Nassau Street Line.^[12][13]

On September 4, 1917, the first part of the BMT Broadway Line and the north side tracks of the Manhattan Bridge opened. Trains ran from 14th Street–Union Square to Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue, now using the bridge's northern tracks.^[12][14]

On January 15, 1918, service was extended to Times Square–42nd Street.^[12]

On May 2, 1957, service was extended north via the express tracks to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue.^[12]

In 1959, trains began stopping at DeKalb Avenue during midday hours. Previously, they bypassed DeKalb Avenue at all times except late nights.

Beginning on January 1, 1961, trains bypassed DeKalb Avenue during rush hours only. In addition, on weekday evenings, late nights, and all day Sundays, they ran local on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line.

The N designation began to appear when R27 subway cars were moved to the service in April 1961.^[11][12]

Poster advertising a new NX service

Poster advertising the NX service's discontinuation

The NX designation was used for a rush hour peak-direction "super-express" service along the express tracks of the Sea Beach Line, beginning at Brighton Beach on the BMT Brighton Line, running through Coney Island, and then following the N route to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue. This short-lived service began on November 27, 1967 (when the Chrystie Street Connection opened)^[15] and ended April 12, 1968 due to low ridership. Starting on Monday, April 15, 1968, the five NX trips instead ran as N trips.^[11][12][16]

1970–1980[]

On August 30, 1976, weekday N service was extended north over the BMT 60th Street Tunnel Connection to Forest Hills–71st Avenue to replace the discontinued EE. While many N trains ran the full route from Coney Island to 71st Avenue, via the Manhattan Bridge and Broadway Express, some trains ran local during the rush hours only between Whitehall Street–South Ferry in Lower Manhattan and Forest Hills–71st Avenue, which had been the former EE route.^[11][12][17]

On January 24, 1977, as part of a series of NYCTA service cuts to save $13 million, many subway lines began running shorter trains during middays. As part of the change, N trains began running with four cars between 9:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m..^[18] On August 27, 1977, N service was cut back during late nights, only operating between 36th Street and Coney Island.^[19]

1980–1990[]

Reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge between 1986 and 2004 disrupted N service, usually rerouting it via the Montague Street Tunnel. On April 26, 1986, the north side tracks (leading to the IND Sixth Avenue Line) were closed and services that normally ran on them were moved to the south side, running via the BMT Broadway Line. Because of the large amount of train traffic now running on those tracks, rush hour and midday N service was rerouted via the Montague Street Tunnel, making local stops in Manhattan (at all times) and Brooklyn, though evening, night and weekend trains continued to use the bridge and express tracks in Brooklyn.^[11][12] The M, which was rerouted from the BMT Brighton Line to the BMT West End Line, replaced the N as the weekday express on the Fourth Avenue Line.^[12][20]

As part of the New York City Transit Authority's proposed service plan to serve the new Archer Avenue Line upper level, the N would have been extended to Jamaica Center during weekdays. When N trains terminated at 71st Avenue or 57th Street–Seventh Avenue during weekends and evenings, G trains would have been extended to Jamaica Center, and during late nights a G train shuttle would have run between Jamaica Center and Van Wyck Boulevard. This service plan would have allowed E and F trains to remain on the Queens Boulevard mainline toward 179th Street.^[21][22][23] The final service plan, which took effect on December 11, 1988, had the extension served by E trains, with R trains extended to 179th Street.^[24]

On May 24, 1987, the N swapped northern terminals with the R. The N was switched to Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard, while the R went to Forest Hills–71st Avenue.^[25]: 16 This was done to give the R direct access to Jamaica Yard; previously, the N had direct access to both Jamaica Yard and Coney Island Yard, and the R, running from Bay Ridge to Astoria, lacked direct access to any yard.^[12][26] This change was intended to improve the appearance and reliability of service on the R, since all trains on the Astoria and Broadway Lines were part of the graffiti-free program.^[25]: 16

When the north side of the Manhattan Bridge reopened and the south side was closed on December 11, 1988, the N began running local in Manhattan and via the Montague Tunnel at all times; In order to replace B service to Ditmars Boulevard, additional N service was provided during rush hours. Trains continued to run express in Brooklyn between Pacific Street and 59th Street/Fourth Avenue evenings and weekends.^[11][27][28]

The Transit Authority and politicians pressured the New York State Department of Transportation to resume N train service on the bridge's south side on September 30, 1990, despite warnings from engineers that the structure was unsafe and major repairs still had to be made. Trains ran express on Broadway in Manhattan (stopping at 49th Street) and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn at all times except late nights. On December 27, state inspectors forced N service to be rerouted via the Montague Street Tunnel again after discovery of corroded support beams and missing steel plates, running local on its entire route at all times.^[29][12]

1990–2000[]

An N train of R68s at 39th Avenue

An N train of R68As at 36th Avenue

On May 31, 1994, the N began running express in Brooklyn between Pacific Street and 59th Street–Fourth Avenue during weekday midday and rush hours, with the M running local during those times.^[30][12][31] From 1994 to May 22, 1995, the southern terminal of the N was 86th Street due to rehabilitation work at Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue.^[32] On November 4, 2001, it was cut back again as the terminal's reconstruction project continued.^[12]

From April 30, 1995 to November 12, 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed during weekday midday and weekends for structural repairs. Midday N service ran local in Brooklyn, replacing the M, which was cut back from 9th Avenue to Chambers Street. The N continued to run express during rush hours.^[33][34][35]

2001–2010[]

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Broadway Line service through Lower Manhattan was suspended; N service was also suspended and replaced by the W in Manhattan and Queens and the M in Brooklyn. On October 28, N service was restored, but Cortlandt Street remained closed until September 15, 2002.^[36]

On September 8, 2002, because of the ongoing reconstruction of Coney Island terminal, weekend and late night N service was reduced to a shuttle between 86th and Pacific Streets, running express on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line. In its place, the W was extended to Manhattan and Astoria, Queens at all times; this was because the W was the only route still serving Stillwell Avenue during this part of the reconstruction.^[12][37][38]

On February 22, 2004, the Manhattan Bridge work was finally completed. The N returned to its full route in Manhattan and Queens at all times, and returned to using the Manhattan Bridge at all times except nights (via Fourth Avenue express, bypassing DeKalb Avenue). On weekdays, N trains ran express between 34th Street in Manhattan and 59th Street/Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge, and local elsewhere; several trains ran express on the entire Broadway Line and short-turned at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue or Times Square during the morning rush hour. On weekends, it makes local stops in Manhattan, but express in Brooklyn, using the bridge. During late nights, it runs local along its entire route via the Montague Street Tunnel, replacing the R train.^{[11][12][39][40]}

On May 29, 2005, the new Stillwell Avenue terminal was completed, and N service between 86th Street and Coney Island was restored.^[12][41]

On June 28, 2010, the N began running local in Manhattan north of Canal Street at all times, replacing the W on weekdays which was discontinued due to budget problems, effectively adopting the weekend service pattern.^[42][43] However, the handful of short-turn N trains continued to run express in Manhattan.^{[44][45][46][47]}

2011–present[]

From August 2, 2013 to September 14, 2014, the Montague Street Tunnel was closed for Hurricane Sandy-related repairs. During this time, overnight N service was rerouted via the Manhattan Bridge, skipping six stations it normally served.^[11][48]

On November 7, 2016, the MTA restored the BMT Broadway Line services to their 2004–2010 service pattern in preparation for the rerouting of the Q train to the Second Avenue Subway. As a result, the N train once again became a weekday express between 34th Street–Herald Square and Canal Street, with local service replaced by the restored W train.^[49][50][51] The MTA approved the service change on May 23, 2016.^[52][53] All short-turn N trains that originally terminated at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue were extended to 96th Street–Second Avenue on January 3, 2017 following the opening of the Second Avenue Subway.^{[6][54][55][56]}

In January 2017, the MTA revealed plans to rehabilitate the tunnel structure above the BMT Fourth Avenue Line's express tracks between 36th Street and 59th Street. As a result, from July 30, 2018 to July 29, 2019, N trains ran local along that section at all times.^{[57][58][59][60]} Between October 21, 2019 and May 4, 2020, N trains terminated at 86th Street so work could be completed to protect Coney Island Yard from flooding. An out-of-system transfer was available between the N at 86th Street and the F at Avenue X station.^[61][62] Afterward, between May and September 2020, the N made local stops on Fourth Avenue on weekends to provide a transfer to the F at Fourth Avenue–Ninth Street, since the F was suspended south of Church Avenue due to construction on the IND Culver Line.^[63] The N began running local in Manhattan in March 2020 after the W was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[64] though regular N and W service was restored in June.^[65][66]

Route[]

Service pattern[]

The following table shows the lines used by the N, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:^{[67][4][5][7][8][10]}

Stations[]

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.^[2]

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops late nights and weekends only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	Station closed
	Stops rush hours only (limited service)
	Stops rush hours in the reverse-peak direction only (limited service)
Time period details
	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
↑	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the indicated direction only
↓
	Elevator access to mezzanine only

Ast.		96th	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections and notes
Manhattan
Second Avenue Line (limited rush hour service only)[54][68]
N/A			96th Street		​Q	M15 Select Bus Service
			86th Street/Second Avenue		​Q  ​R	M15 Select Bus Service M86 Select Bus Service
			72nd Street		​Q  ​R	M15 Select Bus Service
63rd Street Line (limited rush hour service only)[68]
N/A			Lexington Avenue–63rd Street		F  <F> ​​ ​Q  ​R  Out-of-system transfers with MetroCard/OMNY: 4  ​5  ​6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line at 59th Street) N  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line at Lexington Avenue/59th Street)
Queens
Astoria Line
		N/A	Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard		W
			Astoria Boulevard		W	M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport Columbia Transportation: Queens-Riverdale Commuter Route
			30th Avenue		W
			Broadway		W
			36th Avenue		W
			39th Avenue		W
			Queensboro Plaza		W  7  <7> ​ (IRT Flushing Line)
Manhattan
Broadway Line
		N/A	Lexington Avenue/59th Street		​R  ​W  4  ​5  ​6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line at 59th Street) Out-of-system transfer with MetroCard/OMNY: F  <F> ​​ N  ​Q  ​R  (63rd Street Lines at Lexington Avenue–63rd Street)	Roosevelt Island Tramway
			Fifth Avenue–59th Street		​R  ​W
Services to 96th Street (Manhattan) and Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (Queens) split
Broadway Line (Astoria and Second Avenue branches merge)
			57th Street–Seventh Avenue		​Q  ​R  ​W
		|	49th Street	↑	​Q  ​R  ​W	Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction only.
			Times Square–42nd Street		​Q  ​R  ​W  1  ​2  ​3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) 7  <7> ​ (IRT Flushing Line) A  ​C  ​E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal) S  (42nd Street Shuttle) B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line at 42nd Street–Bryant Park, daytime only)	Port Authority Bus Terminal M34A Select Bus Service
			34th Street–Herald Square		​Q  ​R  ​W  B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line)	M34 / M34A Select Bus Service PATH at 33rd Street Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit at Pennsylvania Station
		|	28th Street		​Q  ​R
		|	23rd Street		​Q  ​R	M23 Select Bus Service
			14th Street–Union Square		​Q  ​R  ​W  L  (BMT Canarsie Line) 4  ​5  ​6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)	M14A / M14D Select Bus Service
		|	Eighth Street–New York University		​Q  ​R
		|	Prince Street		​Q  ​R
Manhattan Bridge Branch
			Canal Street–Broadway		​Q  ​R  ​W  6  <6> ​ (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) J  ​Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line)	Stops on the lower level, under Canal Street.
Lower Manhattan Branch (night service only)
		N/A	Canal Street		Q  4  ​6  (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) J  (BMT Nassau Street Line)	Stops on the upper level, under Broadway.[d]
			City Hall
			Cortlandt Street		2  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at Park Place) A  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at Chambers Street) E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at World Trade Center)	PATH at World Trade Center
			Rector Street
			Whitehall Street–South Ferry		R  1  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at South Ferry)	Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal
Brooklyn
Montague Street Branch
		N/A	Court Street		R  2  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at Borough Hall) 4  (IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Borough Hall)
			Jay Street–MetroTech		R  A  F ​ (IND Fulton Street and Culver Lines)
Fourth Avenue Line (tunnel and bridge branches merge)
		|	DeKalb Avenue		B  ​D  ​​Q  ​R  ​W
			Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center		D  Q  ​R  W  B  ​Q  (BMT Brighton Line) 2  ​3  ​4  ​5  (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)	LIRR Atlantic Branch at Atlantic Terminal
		|	Union Street		D  ​​R  ​W
		|	Ninth Street		D  ​​R  ​W  F  ​G  (IND Culver Line at Fourth Avenue)
		|	Prospect Avenue		D  ​​R  ​W
		|	25th Street		D  ​​R  ​W
			36th Street		D  Q  ​R  W
		|	45th Street		​Q  ​R  ​W
		|	53rd Street		​Q  ​R  ​W
			59th Street/Fourth Avenue		​Q  ​R  ​W
Sea Beach Line
			Eighth Avenue	↑	Q  W	Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction only.
			Fort Hamilton Parkway		Q  W
			New Utrecht Avenue		Q  W  D  (BMT West End Line at 62nd Street)
			18th Avenue		Q  W
			20th Avenue		Q  W
			Bay Parkway		Q  W
			Kings Highway		Q  W	B82 Select Bus Service
			Avenue U		Q  W
			Gravesend–86th Street		Q  W	Southern terminal for select rush-hour trains[e]
			Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue		Q  D  (BMT West End Line) F  <F> ​ (IND Culver Line) Q  (BMT Brighton Line)

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to N (New York City Subway service).

Wikinews has related news: New York City Subway N service to be restored to Coney Island May 29, via the Sea Beach Line

• MTA NYC Transit – N Broadway Express
• MTA Subway Time – N Train
• "N Subway Timetable, Effective November 8, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2020.