N (New York City Subway service)

Broadway Express
A train made of R160B cars in N service approaching 39th Avenue.
A train made of R68 cars in N service at 14th Street-Union Square.
Note: Dashed red line shows late night service via the Montague Street Tunnel
Northern end	Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard
Southern end	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Stations	45
Rolling stock	(Shared with W) 16 R68s (2 trains, AM rush) 310 R160Bs (31 trains)
Depot	Coney Island Yard
Started service	June 22, 1915 (1915-06-22)

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 sunflower 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.

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, a branch of the N. On weekends, it makes all stops in Manhattan, with all trains being signed as N. 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.^[2]

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.^[3][4]

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.^[3][5]

On January 15, 1918, service was extended to Times Square–42nd Street.^[3]

On May 2, 1957, service was extended north via the express tracks to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue.^[3]

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.^[2][3]

1970-1980

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)^[6] and ended April 12, 1968 due to low ridership. Starting on Monday, April 15, 1968, the five NX trips instead ran as N trips.^[2][3][7]

Service Adjustment on BMT and IND Lines Effective 1 A.M. Monday, Aug. 30

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 some N trains ran the full route from Coney Island to 71st Avenue, via the Manhattan Bridge and Broadway Express, some trains ran local between Whitehall Street–South Ferry in Lower Manhattan and Forest Hills–71st Avenue, which had been the EE route.^[2][3][8]

New York City Transit Authority Service Adjustment Poster 1977

On August 27, 1977, N service was cut back during late nights, only operating between 36th Street and Coney Island.^[9]

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.^[2][3]

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.^[3][10] 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.^[3][11] 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.^[2][12][13]

On September 30, 1990, full service on the Manhattan Bridge was briefly restored. Express service on Broadway ran all times except nights (all service stopped at 49th Street due to heavy usage).^[14] This very short service was halted by the discovery of a cracked beam under the south side tracks on the bridge.^[3]

1990-2000

In 1994, the N switched back to express in Brooklyn only, from Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street to 59th Street, with the M running local instead on weekdays.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[15]

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.^[3][16]

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.^{[2][3][17][18]}

On May 29, 2005, the new Stillwell Avenue terminal was completed, and N service between 86th Street and Coney Island was restored.^[3][19]

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.^[20][21] N trains that short-turned at 57th Street or Times Square during the AM rush hour continued to run express in Manhattan.^{[22][23][24][25]}

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.^[2][26]

Notice of the N being made express in Manhattan

On February 19, 2016, the MTA announced that as part of a Second Avenue Subway-related reroute of BMT Broadway Line services, the 2004-2010 service pattern would be restored, with the N train running express between 34th Street–Herald Square and Canal Street on weekdays with local service replaced by a newly reinstated W train.^[27][28][29] The MTA approved the service change on May 23, 2016.^[30] The changes took place on November 7, 2016.^[31] The handful of N trains that currently short-turn at 57th Street - Seventh Avenue during rush hours will be extended to 96th Street using the Second Avenue Subway when it opens.^[32]

Route

Service pattern

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

Some N trains will terminate at 96th Street via the Second Avenue Subway when the subway opens in December 2016.^[32]

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
	Station closed
	Stops rush hours/weekdays in the peak direction only
Time period details

	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections and denotes
Manhattan
Second Avenue Line (limited rush hour service only)[33]
	96th Street		under construction	Service to begin December 2016[34]
	86th Street		under construction	M15 Select Bus Service M86 Select Bus Service Service to begin December 2016[34]
	72nd Street		under construction	Service to begin December 2016[34]
63rd Street Line
	Lexington Avenue–63rd Street		F  N  R  W  4  5  6  <6>	Service to begin December 2016[34]
Broadway Line
	57th Street–Seventh Avenue		N  Q  R  W	Uses express (inner) tracks
	Times Square–42nd Street		N  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 Uses express (inner) tracks
Queens
Astoria Line
	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
	Lexington Avenue/59th Street		N  R  W  4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) Out-of-system transfer with MetroCard: F  (IND 63rd Street Line at Lexington Avenue–63rd Street)	Roosevelt Island Tramway
	Fifth Avenue–59th Street		R  W
	57th Street–Seventh Avenue		N  Q  R  W
	49th Street		Q  R  W	Station is ADA-accessible in the northbound direction only
	Times Square–42nd Street		N  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  W
	23rd Street		Q  R  W	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  W
	Prince Street		Q  R  W
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)
	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  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) at South Ferry	Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal
Brooklyn
Montague Street Branch
	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)
	DeKalb Avenue		D  Q  R
Fourth Avenue Line (tunnel and bridge branches merge)
	Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center		D  R  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
	25th Street		D  R
	36th Street		D  R
	45th Street		R
	53rd Street		R
	59th Street		R
Sea Beach Line
	Eighth Avenue
	Fort Hamilton Parkway			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	New Utrecht Avenue		D  (BMT West End Line at 62nd Street)	Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	18th Avenue			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	20th Avenue			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	Bay Parkway
	Kings Highway			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	Avenue U			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	86th Street			Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovation until early 2017
	Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue		D  (BMT West End Line) F  (IND Culver Line) Q  (BMT Brighton Line)

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 Local
• "N Subway Timetable, Effective November 7, 2016" (PDF). New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 7, 2016. 

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