N (New York City Subway service)

Broadway Express
An N train of R160B cars approaching 39th Avenue in Queens.
An N train of R68 cars at Broadway in Queens.
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 (limited rush hour service)
Southern end	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Stations	32 (Astoria service) 45 (Astoria service, late nights) 22 (Second Avenue service)
Rolling stock	(Shared with W) 24 R68s (3 trains) 300 R160Bs (30 trains)
Depot	Coney Island Yard
Started service	June 22, 1915 (1915-06-22)
Route map  N   W  Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard Astoria Boulevard 30th Avenue Broadway 36th Avenue planned Second Avenue Subway 39th Avenue ( N  rush hours )  Q  96th Street  7   <7>  trains continue east 86th Street 72nd Street Queensboro Plaza planned Second Avenue Subway  7   <7>  trains continue west  F  trains continue to Queens  R  trains continue east Lexington Avenue–63rd Street Queens Manhattan Lexington Avenue–59th Street  F  trains continue south Fifth Avenue–59th Street 57th Street–Seventh Avenue northbound only 49th Street Times Square–42nd Street  N  switches to express during weekdays 34th Street–Herald Square 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Eighth Street–New York University Prince Street  N  switches to Manhattan Bridge during weekends Canal Street  N  local via Montague Street Tunnel during late nights  B   D  trains continue north City Hall Cortlandt Street Rector Street  W  (weekdays) ( R   late nights) Whitehall Street Manhattan Bridge over East River  no regular service trains continue north Manhattan Brooklyn Court Street Jay Street–MetroTech Myrtle Avenue DeKalb Avenue  B   Q  trains continue south Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Union Street Ninth Street Prospect Avenue 25th Street 36th Street  D  trains continue south 45th Street 53rd Street 59th Street  R  trains continue south  N  (late nights)  W  switch to local Southbound  N  &  W  trains run express due to station renovations Eighth Avenue Fort Hamilton Parkway New Utrecht Avenue 18th Avenue 20th Avenue  W  (rush hours) Bay Parkway Kings Highway Avenue U  W  (rush hours) 86th Street  D  trains continue north  F  trains continue north  Q  trains continue north  D   N   F   Q  Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue Lines used by the  N  and  W  Other services sharing tracks with the  N  and  W  Unused lines, connections, or service patterns Cross-platform interchange Platforms on different levels

The N Broadway Express 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.^[1]

The N operates at all times between Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn via Astoria in Queens, Broadway in Manhattan, and Fourth Avenue/Sea Beach in Brooklyn; limited rush hour service originates and terminates at 96th Street in Upper East Side, Manhattan instead of Ditmars Boulevard. On weekdays, the N runs express in Manhattan between 34th Street-Herald Square and Canal Street, with weekday local service being provided by the W, which is internally staffed and scheduled as part of the N.^[2] On weekends, it makes all stops in Manhattan north of Canal Street.

Daytime service runs over the south side of the Manhattan Bridge and runs express along Fourth Avenue. During late nights, the N serves all stops along its entire route, using the Montague Street Tunnel to travel between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Service history

Before 1970

The route that is now the N was originally BMT service 4, known as the Sea Beach Line or Sea Beach Express.^[3]

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.^[4][5]

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.^[4][6]

On January 15, 1918, service was extended to Times Square–42nd Street.^[4]

On May 2, 1957, service was extended north via the express tracks to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue.^[4]

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 begins to appear when R27 subway cars are moved to the line in April 1961.^[3][4]

NX A New Service

The NX joins the N

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)^[7] and ended April 12, 1968 due to low ridership. Starting on Monday, April 15, 1968, the five NX trips instead ran as N trips.^[3][4][8]

1970–1980

On August 30, 1976, 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.^[3][4][9]

On August 27, 1977, N service was cut back during late nights, only operating between 36th Street and Coney Island.^[10]

1980–1990

Reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge between 1986 and 2004 disrupted N service, usually removing it from the bridge. On April 26, 1986, the north side tracks on the Manhattan Bridge (leading to the IND Sixth Avenue Line) were closed for rehabilitation, and services that had used the north side were moved to the south side, running via the BMT Broadway Line. Because of the large amount of train traffic now running on the bridge's south side tracks, rush hour and midday N service stopped using the bridge, running via the Montague Street Tunnel and Lower Manhattan making local stops, though evening, night and weekend trains continued to use the bridge and express tracks, terminating at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue.^[3][4]

On April 26, 1986, the M, which was rerouted from the BMT Brighton Line to the BMT West End Line, replaced the N as the weekday express via the Fourth Avenue Line.^[4][11] 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. 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 either yard.^[4][12] 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.^[3][13][14]

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.^[15][4]

1990–2000

In 1994, the N began running express in Brooklyn between Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street and 59th Street during midday and rush hours, with the M running local during those times.^[4]

N train showing termination at 86th Street

From 1994 to 1996, the southern terminal of the N was 86th Street due to rehabilitation work at Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue. On November 4, 2001, it was cut back again as the terminal's reconstruction project continued.^[4]

From April to November 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed during midday and weekends. To allow B trains to lay up on the express tracks at Pacific Street, midday N express service in Brooklyn was discontinued for the duration of the closure.

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.^[16]

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.^[4][17]

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 in Brooklyn, and local elsewhere. 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.^{[3][4][18][19]}

On May 29, 2005, the new Stillwell Avenue terminal was completed, and N service between 86th Street and Coney Island was restored.^[4][20]

On June 28, 2010, the N began running local in Manhattan north of Canal Street on weekdays to replace the W, which was discontinued due to budget problems, effectively adopting the weekend service pattern.^[21][22] N trains that short-turned at 57th Street or Times Square during the AM rush hour continued to run express in Manhattan.^{[23][24][25][26]}

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.^[3][27]

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.^[28][29][30] The MTA approved the service change on May 23, 2016.^[31][32] On January 3, 2017,^[33][34] the handful of N trains that short-turned at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue during rush hours were extended to 96th Street using the Second Avenue Subway.^[2][35]

Route

Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the N, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:^[36]

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.

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)
Time period details

Ast.	96th	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections and denotes
Manhattan
Second Avenue Line (limited rush hour service only)[35][37]
N/A		96th Street		Q	M15 Select Bus Service
		86th Street		Q	M15 Select Bus Service M86 Select Bus Service
		72nd Street		Q	M15 Select Bus Service
63rd Street Line (limited rush hour service only)[37]
N/A		Lexington Avenue–63rd Street		F  Q  Out-of-system transfers with MetroCard: 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 bus to LaGuardia Airport
		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) Out-of-system transfer with MetroCard: F  N  Q  (63rd Street Lines at Lexington Avenue–63rd Street)	Roosevelt Island Tramway
		Fifth Avenue–59th Street		R  W
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)	Port Authority Bus Terminal
		34th Street–Herald Square		Q  R  W  B  D  F  M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line)	M34 / M34A Select Bus Service PATH at 33rd Street
		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)
		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  M  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.
		City Hall
		Cortlandt Street			PATH at World Trade Center
		Rector Street
		Whitehall Street–South Ferry		R  1  2  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) at South Ferry Out-of-system transfer with MetroCard on weekends only: 4  5  (IRT Lexington Avenue Line at Bowling Green)	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  5  (IRT Eastern Parkway Line) at Borough Hall
		Jay Street–MetroTech		R  A  F  (IND Fulton Street and Culver Lines)
		DeKalb Avenue		D  Q  R
Fourth Avenue Line (tunnel and bridge branches merge)
		Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center		D  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
		Ninth Street		D  R  F  G  (IND Culver Line at Fourth Avenue)
		Prospect Avenue		D  R	Station is closed during renovations until December 2017.
		25th Street		D  R
		36th Street		D  R  W
		45th Street		R
		53rd Street		R	Station is closed during renovations until November 2017.
		59th Street		R  W
Sea Beach Line
		Eighth Avenue		W
		Fort Hamilton Parkway		W	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		New Utrecht Avenue		W  D  (BMT West End Line at 62nd Street)	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		18th Avenue		W	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		20th Avenue		W	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		Bay Parkway		W
		Kings Highway		W	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		Avenue U		W	Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		86th Street		W	Some southbound a.m. rush hour trips terminate at this station. Some northbound rush hour trips begin at this station. Coney Island–bound trains do not stop here due to renovations until Fall 2018.
		Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue		D  (BMT West End Line) 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
• "N Subway Timetable, Effective June 25, 2017" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 25, 2017.