The J train normally operates local, but during rush hours it is joined by the Z train in the peak direction. Both run local, express or skip-stop on different parts of their route.
The 6 and 7 are fully local, but during rush hours, express variants of the routes, designated by diamond-shaped route markers, are operated alongside the locals in the peak direction.
The F has portions of express and local service, but during rush hours, an express variant of the route, designated by a diamond-shaped route marker, is operated alongside the local in Brooklyn in the peak direction.
The subway normally operates 24 hours a day with five different service patterns: rush-hour, midday, evening, weekend and late-night. Each service has a table in its article to show what tracks are used and when. This article lists all the current services, along with their lines and terminals and a brief description; see Unused New York City Subway service labels for unused and defunct services.
In the New York City Subway nomenclature, numbered or lettered "services" use different segments of physical trackage, or "lines". The services that run on certain lines change periodically.
Time periods
The New York City Subway is one of the few subways worldwide operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The schedule is divided into different periods, with each containing different operation patterns and train intervals.
The MTA defines time periods as follows; these are used in articles (sometimes abbreviated by numbers in superscript or the symbol indicated):
(1) rush hours – 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday–Friday
(1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning, away from Manhattan in the afternoon)
(2) middays – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday–Friday
(2a) middays in the peak direction
(2b) middays in the non-peak direction
(3) evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday–Friday
(3a) early evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(3b) evenings in the peak direction
(3c) early evenings in the peak direction – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(4) weekends – 6:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Saturday and Sunday (weekends during the day)
(5) late nights – 12:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., every day
(5a) weekday late nights
(5b) weekend late nights
Other symbols are derivatives and are defined based on the rules above:
all times – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
all times except rush hours in the peak direction
all times except weekdays in the peak direction
daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (4) above (all times except late nights)
daily except rush hours in the peak direction
daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5b) above (all times except weekday late nights)
weekdays – criteria (1), (2), and (3) above (weekdays during the day)
nights and weekdays – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5) above
weekdays and weekday nights – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5a) above
nights and weekends – criteria (4) and (5) above
weekends and weekend nights – criteria (4) and (5b) above
limited service during rush hours – criterion (1) above, but only for selected trains
limited service during rush hours in the peak direction
service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction – opposite of criteria (1) above
limited service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction
Service listing
Lines with colors next to them are the primary trunk line of the corresponding service; they determine the color of the service bullets and diamonds, except shuttles, which are dark gray.
Current services
Future services
Service variants
The 6 service has a midday (2a) and rush hour (1a) diamond Bronx express service labeled <6>, in addition to 6 local service.[7]
The 7 service has a rush hour (1a), and evening (3c) diamond Queens express service labeled <7>, in addition to 7 local service.[8]
Overnights (5), the A train between 104th Street and Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard is replaced by a shuttle which originates at Euclid Avenue.[10] This service has been labeled on the late-night map as (gray A) and on trains as (blue S).
The F service has a rush hour (1a), diamond Brooklyn express service labeled <F>, in addition to F local service.[15]
Several services operate shorter routes during lower ridership hours, but these are neither signed differently nor counted as separate services. Although service changes caused by General Orders for construction occur on most days during midday and overnight hours, and throughout most weekends, these changes are not counted as separate services.
Variants to a different terminal
Because of some terminal station capacity constraints, numerous services operate to a secondary terminal as well as their usual terminus during peak hours.
Limited rush hour 2 trains operate to and from a different southern terminal (New Lots Avenue).[3]
Limited rush hour 4 trains are extended to and from New Lots Avenue.[5]
Limited rush hour E trains operate to and from a different northern terminal (Jamaica–179th Street).[14]
Limited rush hour N trains operate from a different northern terminal (96th Street).[20][26]
One rush hour R train operates to a different northern terminal (96th Street).[22][27]
Limited rush hour W trains are extended to and from 86th Street.[25]
Event variants
The "2007 Holiday Shopper's Special", which ran on December Sundays, is a train of museum subway cars. This particular car is displaying the (former) S Special on its rollsign at the 23rd Street (Sixth Avenue) station.
The following lines run in special service or after sporting and other events:
The Holiday Nostalgia Train, which is made up of retired subway cars, runs on weekends during the Christmas holiday season. The pre-2022 version of the train, marked as S | Special, ran via IND trackage to Second Avenue, with northern terminals at either Queens Plaza or 145th Street and ran on Sunday mornings and mid-days from Thanksgiving until the Sunday before Christmas.[28] For the 2022 holiday season, the train, signed as the 1 train, traveled via IRT trackage between 137th Street and Chambers Street.[29] During Saturdays in December 2023, the IND version was back in the daytime, with 145th Street being the northern terminal.
Train frequency charts
Train intervals
The schedule offers trains every 3 to 5 minutes on the most used sections during rush hours. During other traffic periods, intervals range usually from 4 to 12 minutes or up to 20 minutes on outer sections. During late nights, only selected express services are operated and all late-night services usually run every 20 minutes.
Trains per hour
This is a list of average train frequencies during different times of the day, measured in trains per hour (tph). This chart shows frequencies as of July 2024[update] based on the train intervals listed in timetables, with a margin of error of 2 tph.
^ a b cSome trains also go to New Lots Avenue during rush hours
^Most trains go to Dyre Avenue, but a few go to Nereid Avenue
^7 to Lefferts Boulevard, 7 to Far Rockaway, plus five daily peak-direction trains to/from Rockaway Park
^12 to Parsons/Archer, 3 to 179th Street
^2 from Brooklyn in the AM, and 2 toward Brooklyn in the PM
^Evening and weekend frequencies are the same as midday frequencies, with the following exceptions: <6> trains do not operate in the evenings or weekends. B and W trains do not operate on weekends.
^4 to Lefferts Boulevard, 4 to Far Rockaway
^3 for regular service to Far Rockaway, 3 for Lefferts shuttle
History
See New York City Subway nomenclature for a complete explanation; this is just a table of when each service has existed (and been signed for the public). Shuttles were SS until 1985, when they became S (which had been used for specials). See here for the colors used for shuttles in 1967; in 1968 all six became green, and in 1979 all shuttles became dark gray.
^ a b c"S Subway Timetable Between Grand Central Station and Times Square, Manhattan, Effective September 13, 2020". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
^"8:45 AM - 9:47 AM Coney Island-Stillwell Av – OpenMobilityData". transitfeeds.com. July 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^"7:01 AM - 8:05 AM 96 St – TransitFeeds". transitfeeds.com. November 6, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
(1) rush hours – 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday–Friday
(1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning, away from Manhattan in the afternoon)
(3) evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday–Friday
(4) weekends – 6:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Saturday and Sunday (weekends during the day)
(5) late nights – 12:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., every day
all times – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
all times except rush hours in the peak direction
daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (4) above (all times except late nights)
nights and weekdays – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5) above
nights and weekends – criteria (4) and (5) above
service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction – opposite of criteria (1) above
(gray A) and on trains as 
(blue S).
