7 (New York City Subway service)

For the former Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation 7 service, see Franklin Avenue Shuttle.

Flushing Local and Express
Northern end	Flushing – Main Street
Southern end	Queensboro Plaza (weekends) Times Square (weekdays)
Stations	21

The 7 Flushing Local and 7 Flushing Express are rapid transit services of the New York City Subway, providing local and express services along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line. The services are colored purple on station signs, route signs and the official subway map with local service denoted by a 7 in a circular logo, and express service by a 7 in a diamond-shaped logo. Both services operate between Main Street in Flushing, Queens and Times Square in Midtown Manhattan.

Local service operates at all times. Express service runs weekdays from 6:30 to 10:00 a.m. going to Times Square and 3:00 to 10:00 p.m. (15:00 to 22:00) going to Main Street. "Super Express" service to Manhattan is also provided after New York Mets games weeknights and weekends at Citi Field and US Open (tennis) games: starting at Mets – Willets Point and operating express to Times Square, also bypassing Junction Boulevard, Hunters Point Avenue and Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue.

Due to long-term construction on the Flushing Line, the Court Square station is closed for ten weeks and the 7 train is suspended between Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, Queens and Manhattan for 11 consecutive weekends from January 21 to April 2, 2012.

The 7 operates with 11-car trains, more than any other New York City Subway service. However, these trains are not the longest in the system, since a train of 11 "A" Division cars is only 561 feet (171 m) long, while a standard "B" Division train (consisting of ten 60 foot cars or eight 75 foot cars) is 600 feet (180 m) long.

The 7 is the only "A" Division service that runs to the borough of Queens and nicknamed the "International Express," because it travels through several different ethnic neighborhoods populated by U.S. immigrants, especially along Roosevelt Avenue. This name is not official, nor is the title used in day to day operations.

Fleet

The 7 was the last stronghold for the "Redbird" subway cars. Until 2002, the entire fleet was dominated by the R33/R36 World's Fair cars. In 2001, with the arrival of the R142/R142A cars, the Transit Authority announced the retirement of all Redbird cars. From 2002-03, the Bombardier-built R62A cars formerly used on the 3 and 6 trains gradually replaced the R33/36 WF's cars on the 7. On November 3, 2003, the last Redbird train made its final trip on this line, making all stops between Times Square and the then-named Willets Point – Shea Stadium.

Several Redbird cars running on this train were decorated with Mets logos and colors during the 2000 Subway Series against the New York Yankees, as the Flushing line runs adjacent to Citi Field and the former location of Shea Stadium. Some R33/R36 WFs remain in Corona Yard, adjacent to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Citi Field.

Currently, all of the R62As on the 7 have been upgraded with LED lighted signs to distinguish between express and local trains. These signs are located on the rollsigns that are found on the side of each car. The local is a green circle around the 7 service bullet while the express is a red diamond. Previously, the rollsigns showed either a 7 within a circle or a 7 within a diamond with the word "Express" underneath it.

Gallery

• 

  An R36 7 local northbound at 33rd Street–Rawson Street. The line consisted entirely of these cars before their retirement in 2003

• 

  Manhattan-bound 7 train of R62As, which comprise the current 7 train fleet, at Mets – Willets Point

• 

  Train with the upgraded side curtain LED displays to help ease confusion from the Local and Express train. Green circle denotes a local train.

• 

  Red diamond denotes an express train. These two pictures are from consecutive trains taken at Grand Central on May 4th, 2009.

Service history

On June 13, 1915, the first test train on the IRT Flushing Line ran between Grand Central and Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue, followed by the start of revenue service on June 22. Over the next thirteen years, the line was extended piece by piece to its current form between Times Square and Flushing – Main Street.

The 7 designation has been assigned to its current route since the introduction of front rollsigns on the R12 in 1948.

From May 13, 1985 to August 21, 1989, the IRT Flushing Line was overhauled for improvements, including the installation of new track, repair of station structures and to improve line infrastructure. The major element was the replacement of rails on the Queens Boulevard viaduct. Express service was suspended for the duration of the project; however, extra service was provided for Mets games and Flushing Meadows Park events. Upon the completion of the project, express service was restored, but express trains bypassed 61st Street – Woodside because the Transit Authority was concerned about passengers transferring between local and express trains at that station. The stop was added a few months later after pressure from community opposition.

In the mid-1990s, the MTA discovered that the Queens Boulevard viaduct structure was unstable, as rocks that were used to support the tracks as ballast became loose due to poor drainage, which, in turn, affected the integrity of the concrete structure overall. Express service was suspended between 61st Street – Woodside and Queensboro Plaza; temporary platforms were installed to access the express track in the four intermediate stations. The work began in April 1993. When the viaduct reconstruction finished on March 31, 1997, full express service was reinstated.

In 1999, express service was expanded from rush hours only to weekdays from 6:30 to 22:00 (6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. eastern time). However, this expansion was cut back in 2009 due to frequent midday construction.

Work has been underway since 2008 to convert the 7 service to accommodate Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC). Expected to cost $585.9 million, CBTC will allow two additional trains per hour, providing a 7% increase in capacity. New cars on order for the A-Division (R188 contract) are compatible with CBTC, which the MTA estimates will be completed in 2016.

An extension of the Flushing line west then south to 34th Street – 11th Avenue, near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in 2013. On November 16, 2010, New York City officials announced they are considering a further extension of the service across the Hudson River to the Secaucus Junction train station in New Jersey. As of October 26th, 2011 tentative support for the extension has been given by New York City Mayor Bloomberg as well as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in comments to the press.

Route

Service pattern

The following table shows the line used by the 7 and <7> trains, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:

Line	From	To	Tracks	Times
				rush hour peak dir.	weekdays	weekends
IRT Flushing Line (full line)	Flushing – Main Street	33rd Street – Rawson Street	express
			local
	Queensboro Plaza		all
	Court Square	Times Square

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see IRT Flushing Line.

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	Station closed
Time period details

		Stations		Subway transfers	Connections/Notes
Queens
		Flushing – Main Street			LIRR Port Washington Branch at Flushing Main Street Q48 to LaGuardia Airport
		Mets – Willets Point			formerly Willets Point – Shea Stadium LIRR Port Washington Branch at Mets – Willets Point (special events only) Q48 to LaGuardia Airport
		111th Street			Q48 to LaGuardia Airport
		103rd Street – Corona Plaza
		Junction Boulevard			Q72 to LaGuardia Airport
		90th Street – Elmhurst Avenue
		82nd Street – Jackson Heights			Q33 to LaGuardia Airport
		74th Street – Broadway		E  F  M  R  (IND Queens Boulevard Line)	Q33 to LaGuardia Airport Q47 to LaGuardia Airport Marine Air Terminal
		69th Street
		Woodside – 61st Street			LIRR City Terminal Zone at Woodside
		52nd Street
		46th Street – Bliss Street
		40th Street – Lowery Street
		33rd Street – Rawson Street
		Queensboro Plaza		N  Q  (BMT Astoria Line)	Southern terminal for all trains on weekends until April 2, 2012
		Court Square		G  (IND Crosstown Line) E  M  (IND Queens Boulevard Line at Court Square – 23rd Street)	Closed for rehabilitation until April 2, 2012
		Hunters Point Avenue			LIRR City Terminal Zone at Hunterspoint Avenue (peak hours only)
		Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue			LIRR City Terminal Zone at Long Island City (peak hours only)
Manhattan
		Grand Central		4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) S  (42nd Street Shuttle)	Metro-North Railroad at Grand Central Terminal
		Fifth Avenue – Bryant Park		B  D  F  M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Bryant Park)
		Times Square		1  2  3  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) A  C  E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal) N  Q  R  (BMT Broadway Line) S  (42nd Street Shuttle)	Port Authority Bus Terminal
7 Subway Extension
		34th Street		Under construction, scheduled opening December 2013

• Express service runs weekdays from 5:30 to 10:00 a.m. going to Times Square and 3:00 to 10:00 p.m. (15:00 to 22:00) going to Flushing – Main Street as well as after games at Citi Field.

External links

External videos
	A Weekend at Work: Flushing Line May 2011, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; July 21, 2011; 3:42 YouTube video clip

• MTA New York City Transit – 7 Flushing Local
• MTA New York City Transit – 7 Flushing Express
• MTA NYC Transit – 7 train timetablePDF – Effective December 4, 2011
• Safari 7 – Tour of Urban Wildlife along the 7 train
• Fiscal Brief September 2002PDF (144 KB)
• City Raises $2 Billion In Bonds For No. 7 Train Extension - NY1 local news channel (retrieved on 12/07/2006)
• Once Upon A Time In Queens: Number 7 Train Provides Real Connection To History - NY1 local news channel (retrieved on 05/25/2010)