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 (IRT), Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), and the Independent Subway System (IND). 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.

Primary Trunk line	Color	Pantone	Service bullets
IND Sixth Avenue Line	Bright orange	PMS 165
IND Eighth Avenue Line	Vivid blue	PMS 286
BMT Broadway Line	Sunflower yellow	PMS 116
IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line	Tomato red	PMS 185
BMT Canarsie Line	Light slate gray	50% black
IND Crosstown Line	Lime green	PMS 376
IRT Flushing Line	Raspberry	PMS Purple
IRT Lexington Avenue Line	Apple green	PMS 355
BMT Nassau Street Line	Terra cotta brown	PMS 154
Shuttles	Dark slate gray	70% black

Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

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 is paired with its original division (IRT, BMT or IND). For example, the line under Eighth Avenue is the IND Eighth Avenue Line. Some lines have changed names (and even divisions), 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 R 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—with these exceptions: the IND Crosstown Line, which doesn't carry services to Manhattan, is colored lime green; and all shuttles are colored dark gray. The list of trunk lines and colors is shown in the table on the right.

Lines in service

There are currently 34 rail lines in service, one (the BMT 63rd Street Line) not in revenue service, and one (the Second Avenue Subway) is under construction. The Archer Avenue Line and the 63rd Street Line are classified as two separate lines each due to their structure: both lines are able to serve two divisions (the BMT and the IND) 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. 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.

Division	Line	Borough(s)	Service(s)	Opened	Structure
B (IND)	02Second Avenue Line	Manhattan	N/A	under construction	underground
B (BMT)	04Fourth Avenue Line	Brooklyn	D        N        R	01915-06-22June 22, 1915	underground
B (IND)	06Sixth Avenue Line	Manhattan Brooklyn	B        D        F        M	01936-01-01January 1936	underground
B (IND)	08Eighth Avenue Line	Manhattan Brooklyn	A        B        C        D        E	01932-09-10September 10, 1932	underground
A (IRT)	42nd Street Shuttle	Manhattan	S	01904-10-27October 27, 1904	underground
B (BMT)	63rd Street Line	Manhattan	no regular service	01989-10-29October 29, 1989	underground
B (IND)	63rd Street Line	Manhattan Queens	F	01989-10-29October 29, 1989	underground
B (BMT)	Archer Avenue Line	Queens	J        Z	01988-12-11December 11, 1988	underground
B (IND)	Archer Avenue Line	Queens	E	01988-12-11December 11, 1988	underground
B (BMT)	Astoria Line	Queens	N        Q	01917-04-21April 21, 1917	elevated
B (BMT)	Brighton Line	Brooklyn	B        Q	01878-07-02July 2, 1878	underground, open cut, at-grade, embankment, elevated
B (BMT)	Broadway Line	Manhattan	N        Q        R	01917-09-04September 4, 1917	underground
A (IRT)	Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line	Bronx Manhattan Brooklyn	1        2        3	01904-10-27October 27, 1904	underground, elevated
B (BMT)	Canarsie Line	Manhattan Brooklyn	L	01865-10-21October 21, 1865	underground, elevated, at-grade
B (IND)	Concourse Line	Bronx Manhattan	B        D	01933-07-01July 1, 1933	underground
B (IND)	Crosstown Line	Brooklyn Queens	G	01933-08-19August 19, 1933	underground
B (IND)	Culver Line	Brooklyn	F        G	01919-03-16March 16, 1919	underground, elevated
A (IRT)	Dyre Avenue Line	Bronx	5	01941-05-15May 15, 1941	at-grade, underground, elevated
A (IRT)	Eastern Parkway Line	Brooklyn	2        3        4        5	01908-01-09January 9, 1908	underground
A (IRT)	Flushing Line	Manhattan Queens	7  <7>	01915-06-22June 22, 1915	underground, elevated
B (BMT)	Franklin Avenue Shuttle	Brooklyn	S	01878-07-02July 2, 1878	at-grade, open cut
B (IND)	Fulton Street Line	Brooklyn Queens	A        C	01936-04-09April 9, 1936	underground, elevated
B (BMT)	Jamaica Line	Brooklyn Queens	J        M        Z	01885-02-02February 2, 1885	elevated
A (IRT)	Jerome Avenue Line	Bronx	4        5	01917-06-12June 12, 1917	elevated, underground
A (IRT)	Lenox Avenue Line	Manhattan	2        3	01904-11-23November 23, 1904	underground
A (IRT)	Lexington Avenue Line	Manhattan	4        5        6  <6>	01904-10-27October 27, 1904	underground
B (BMT)	Myrtle Avenue Line	Brooklyn Queens	M	01889-12-19December 19, 1889	elevated, at-grade
B (BMT)	Nassau Street Line	Manhattan	J        M        Z	01908-09-16September 16, 1908	underground
A (IRT)	New Lots Line	Brooklyn	2        3        4        5	01920-11-23November 23, 1920	elevated
A (IRT)	Nostrand Avenue Line	Brooklyn	2        5	01920-08-23August 23, 1920	underground
A (IRT)	Pelham Line	Bronx	6  <6>	01918-08-01August 1, 1918	underground, elevated
B (IND)	Queens Boulevard Line	Queens	E        F        M        R	01933-08-19August 19, 1933	underground
B (IND)	Rockaway Line	Queens	A        S	01956-06-28June 28, 1956	at-grade, embankment, elevated
B (BMT)	Sea Beach Line	Brooklyn	N	01915-06-22June 22, 1915	open cut, at-grade
B (BMT)	West End Line	Brooklyn	D	01916-06-24June 24, 1916	elevated, at-grade
A (IRT)	White Plains Road Line	Bronx	2        5	01905-07-10July 10, 1905	elevated, underground

Connections

Main article: List of New York City Subway 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:

• 60th Street Tunnel Connection (Queens) (BMT/IND) (R train)
• 63rd Street Lines (BMT 63rd St Line / IND 63rd St Line) (Manhattan) (BMT/IND)
• Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue station (BMT/IND) (originally all BMT) (D F N Q trains)
• Chrystie Street Connection (Manhattan) (BMT/IND) via the Manhattan Bridge (B D trains) and via the Williamsburg Bridge (M train)

This connection is not for revenue service due to the differing widths of the trains:

• Astoria Line / Flushing Line (Queens) (BMT/IRT)

Yards

These connections are located within the subway's rail yards and are not intended for revenue service.

• 207th Street Yard (Manhattan) (IND/IRT); trains from the IND Eighth Avenue Line and IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line
• Coney Island Complex (Brooklyn) (BMT/IND); trains from the BMT Brighton Line, IND Culver Line, BMT Sea Beach Line and BMT West End Line
• Concourse Yard (Bronx) (IND/IRT); trains from the IND Concourse Line and IRT Jerome Avenue Line
• Linden Yard (Brooklyn) (BMT/IRT/LIRR); trains from the BMT Canarsie Line and IRT New Lots Line

Other

• South Brooklyn Railway / BMT West End Line (Brooklyn) (BMT/Mainline RR)

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.

Division	Line	Borough(s)	Opened	Closed	Structure	Status
A (IRT)	02Second Avenue Line	Manhattan	March 1, 1880	June 13, 1942	elevated	Entirely demolished
A (IRT)	03Third Avenue Line	Manhattan Bronx	August 26, 1878	April 28, 1973	elevated	ended service to Manhattan on May 12, 1955 Entirely demolished
B (BMT)	03Third Avenue Line	Brooklyn			elevated	Entirely demolished
B (BMT)	05Fifth Avenue Line	Brooklyn			elevated	Entirely demolished
A (IRT)	06Sixth Avenue Line	Manhattan	1878	December 4, 1938	elevated	Entirely demolished
A (IRT)	09Ninth Avenue Line	Manhattan Bronx	July 1, 1868	August 31, 1958	elevated	ended service to Manhattan on June 11, 1940 Entirely demolished; except for the two underground stations at Sedgwick Avenue and Anderson – Jerome Avenue in the Bronx
B (BMT)	Canarsie Line	Brooklyn	19th Century	November 21, 1942	at-grade	Line from Canarsie – Rockaway Parkway to Canarsie Pier replaced with streetcars, then abandoned and replaced with buses.
B (BMT)	Culver Line	Brooklyn			elevated	Line from Ditmas Avenue to Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue taken over by the IND in 1954; remainder of line to Ninth Avenue abandoned in 1975 and demolished in 1985.
B (BMT)	Fulton Street Line	Brooklyn Queens			elevated	Line west of Hudson Street – 80th Street demolished; remainder of line taken over by the IND in 1956.
A (IRT)	IRT trunk line	Manhattan	October 27, 1904	July 17, 1918	underground	Separated into the Broadway – Seventh Avenue, Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street Shuttle lines
B (BMT)	Lexington Avenue Line	Brooklyn			elevated	Line west of Gates Avenue demolished
B (BMT)	Jamaica Line	Brooklyn Queens			elevated	Line west of Marcy Avenue demolished Line east of 121st Street demolished
B (BMT)	Myrtle Avenue Line	Brooklyn Queens	1888-1924	1944-1969	elevated	Line west of Broadway demolished
B (IND)	World's Fair Line	Queens	1939	1940	at-grade	Entirely demolished

See also

• List of New York City Subway services
• New York City Subway nomenclature
• Staten Island Railway

Notes

• ^a The route of the original IRT line, the first underground New York City rapid transit line, began at City Hall in the south, followed the IRT Lexington Avenue Line to 33rd Street, turned west on 42nd Street to Grand Central, followed the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle to Times Square, turned north on Broadway to 50th Street, followed the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line and terminated at 145th Street.
• ^b The IRT Dyre Avenue Line was formed from the purchase of abandoned New York, Westchester and Boston Railway trackage in 1941.
• ^c The formation of the IND Culver Line occurred when the IND "recaptured" (e.g. New York City took over lines it had built for private companies) the trackage rights of the BMT Culver Line in 1954, connecting Ditmas Avenue to Church Avenue, the terminus of the IND Brooklyn Line.
• ^d For the extension of the IND Fulton Street Line in 1956, the IND "recaptured" the trackage rights of the BMT Fulton Street Line, connecting Hudson Street–80th Street to Grant Avenue.
• ^e The IND Rockaway Line was formed from the purchase of some trackage from the Long Island Rail Road's Rockaway Park Branch and Far Rockaway Branch in 1955.