The N Broadway Express
is a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
service in the
B Division B Division, Division B, or variant may refer to:
* ''B Division'' (New York City Subway)
* ''B Division'' (Irish League), association football
* ''Division B'' (Scottish Football League)
* ''Divizia B'' (Romanian Football League)
* Moldovan "B ...
of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored , since it uses the
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. , it is served by four services, all colored : the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks during weekdays (the N and Q trains ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
The N operates at all times between
Ditmars Boulevard
Ditmars Boulevard, originally known as Ditmars Avenue, is a street located in northwest Queens, New York City. It is divided into two segments; one travels through the neighborhood of Ditmars, located within Astoria, and the other acts as a se ...
in
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...
, and
Stillwell Avenue
Stillwell Avenue is a major two-way north/south thoroughfare in southern Brooklyn and the central section of Coney Island. It is long and begins at a dead end at Riegelmann Boardwalk on Coney Island. The road goes north, leaving Coney Island, en ...
in
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, via the
BMT Astoria Line in Queens, Broadway Line in Manhattan, the south side of the
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cables be ...
, and the BMT
Fourth Avenue and
Sea Beach Lines in Brooklyn. North of
57th Street, limited rush hour service operates via the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
, originating and terminating at
96th Street on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
instead of Ditmars Boulevard.
During the daytime on weekdays, the N runs express between
34th Street–Herald Square in Manhattan and
59th Street in Brooklyn and local elsewhere. Local service in Manhattan is provided by the
W, which is internally staffed and scheduled as part of the N.
Select rush-hour N trains in the reverse-peak direction provide regular express service in Manhattan but stop at
DeKalb Avenue
At Fort Greene Park
DeKalb Avenue is a thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn.
It runs from Woodward Avenue (Linden Hill Cemetery) in Ridgewood, Queens to Downtown Brookly ...
and operates local on the Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn.
Weekend daytime service is the same as weekday service, except that the N makes all stops in Manhattan between Herald Square and
Canal Street. During late nights, the N makes all stops along its entire route and uses the
Montague Street Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel is a rail tunnel of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line. The R uses the tunnel at all times, the N us ...
to travel between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The N was originally the
Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway s ...
's 4 service, running along the BMT Sea Beach Line to the Manhattan Bridge. The 4 used the
BMT Nassau Street Line
The BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system in Manhattan. It is a continuation of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan; it continues to ...
in Lower Manhattan from 1915 to 1917, after which it ran express on the BMT Broadway Line. The 4 became the N in 1961. The N ran local in Queens along the
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 s ...
to
Forest Hills–71st Avenue from 1976 until 1987, when it switched terminals with the R. From 1986 to 2004, reconstruction on the Manhattan Bridge forced the N to run local on the Broadway Line via the Montague Street Tunnel.
Service history
Before 1970
1967–1979 bullet
The route that is now the N was originally
BMT service 4, known as the ''Sea Beach Line'' or ''Sea Beach Express''.
On June 22, 1915, the current
BMT Sea Beach Line
The BMT Sea Beach Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, connecting the BMT Fourth Avenue Line at 59th Street via a four-track wide open cut to Coney Island in Brooklyn. It has at times hosted the fastes ...
opened, replacing a street level "el" that branched off of the
Fifth Avenue El with the former
BMT West End Line
The BMT West End Line is a line of the New York City Subway, serving the Brooklyn communities of Sunset Park, Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. The D train operates local on the entire line at all times. A ...
. Originally, it used the south tracks of the
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cables be ...
, which at that time connected to the
BMT Nassau Street Line
The BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system in Manhattan. It is a continuation of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan; it continues to ...
.
Trains began running express between Pacific Street and 59th Street with the extension of the Fourth Avenue Line to 86th Street.
On September 4, 1917, the first part of the
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. , it is served by four services, all colored : the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks during weekdays (the N and Q trains ...
and the north side tracks of the Manhattan Bridge opened. Trains ran from
14th Street–Union Square to
Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Coney may refer to:
Places
* Côney, a river in eastern France
* Coney, Georgia, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Coney Island (disambiguation)
People
* Dean Coney (born 1963), English footballer
* Hykiem Coney (1982–200 ...
, now using the bridge's northern tracks.
On January 15, 1918, service was extended to
Times Square–42nd Street.
Weekday and Saturday summer trains leaving Coney Island between 6:37 a.m. and 8:37 p.m. began running non-stop between Kings Highway and 59th Street on August 1, 1920. Trains that started at Kings Highway made local stops. On November 14, 1920, weekday rush hour trains, and Saturday AM rush hour trains began skipping Myrtle Avenue and DeKalb Avenue.
Between 1924 and 1926, trains skipped Myrtle Avenue and DeKalb Avenue during weekday rush hours, and on Saturday southbound between 12:01 p.m. and 6:57 p.m. Between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. weekdays, and 12:01 p.m. to 6:57 p.m. Saturdays on southbound, riders were only permitted to board the rear cars at Canal Street, not alight from the train. In June 1931, trains skipped Myrtle Avenue and DeKalb Avenue between 7 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. weekdays, and between 10:30 a.m. Sunday to 12:30 a.m. Monday. Trains skipped 36th Street during the morning rush hour in the northbound direction. Between 1933 and 1937, the hours in which trains skipped Myrtle Avenue and DeKalb Avenue were 7 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. weekdays.
On June 29, 1950, trains began running express in Brooklyn during late nights. As of June 28, 1951, every other morning rush hour train no longer terminated at Kings Highway.
On May 2, 1957, service was extended north via the express tracks from Times Square to
57th Street–Seventh Avenue, and trains stopped bypassing 36th Street during the AM rush hour. In fall 1959, trains began stopping at
DeKalb Avenue
At Fort Greene Park
DeKalb Avenue is a thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn.
It runs from Woodward Avenue (Linden Hill Cemetery) in Ridgewood, Queens to Downtown Brookly ...
during midday hours. Previously, they bypassed DeKalb Avenue at all times except late nights. Beginning on January 1, 1961, trains bypassed
DeKalb Avenue
At Fort Greene Park
DeKalb Avenue is a thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn.
It runs from Woodward Avenue (Linden Hill Cemetery) in Ridgewood, Queens to Downtown Brookly ...
during rush hours only. In addition, on weekday and Saturday evening and late night trains, and all day Sundays, they ran local on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line.
The N designation began to appear when
R27 subway cars were moved to the service in April 1961.
![The NX joins the N](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/The_NX_joins_the_N.gif)
The NX designation was used for a
rush hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
peak-direction "super-express" service along the express tracks of the Sea Beach Line, beginning at
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach i ...
on the
BMT Brighton Line
The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined ...
, 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
The Chrystie Street Connection is a set of New York City Subway tunnels running the length of Chrystie Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is one of the few track connections between lines of the former Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit ...
opened) and ended April 12, 1968 due to low ridership. Starting on Monday, April 15, 1968, the five NX trips instead ran as N trips.
On December 31, 1972, all late night trains began running local in Brooklyn. Late weekday evening trains, weekend southbound trains, and northbound early weekday trains began stopping at 53rd Street and 45th Street.
1970–1980
On August 30, 1976, weekday N service was extended north over the BMT
60th Street Tunnel Connection
The 60th Street Tunnel Connection or 11th Street Cut is a short rapid transit line of the New York City Subway connecting the 60th Street Tunnel under the East River (which connects to the BMT Broadway Line) with the IND Queens Boulevard Line w ...
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 (southbound in the AM rush hour, and northbound in the PM rush hour) between
Whitehall Street–South Ferry
The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station is a New York City Subway metro station, station complex in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District neighborhood of Manhattan, under Battery Park. The complex is shared by the IRT Broadway ...
in
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
and
Forest Hills–71st Avenue, which had been the former EE route; these trains were noted with diamond N bullets from 1979. Trains stopped terminating at Kings Highway in the AM rush hour.
On January 24, 1977, as part of a series of NYCTA service cuts to save $13 million, many subway lines began running shorter trains during middays. As part of the change, N trains began running with four cars between 9:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. On August 27, 1977, N service was cut back during late nights, only operating between
36th Street and
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
. Northbound trains ran express between 59th Street and 36th Street while southbound trains ran local.
1980–1990
On November 26, 1984, evening rush hour trains that terminated at Kings Highway were extended to Coney Island.
Reconstruction of the
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cables be ...
between 1986 and 2004 disrupted N service, usually rerouting it via the
Montague Street Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel is a rail tunnel of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line. The R uses the tunnel at all times, the N us ...
. On April 26, 1986, the north side tracks (leading to the
IND Sixth Avenue Line
The IND Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south to Brooklyn. The B, D, F, and M trains, which use th ...
) were closed and services that normally ran on them were moved to the south side, running via the
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. , it is served by four services, all colored : the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks during weekdays (the N and Q trains ...
. Because of the large amount of train traffic now running on those tracks, rush hour and midday N service was rerouted via the Montague Street Tunnel, making local stops in Manhattan (at all times) and Brooklyn, though evening, night and weekend trains continued to use the bridge and express tracks in Brooklyn.
Late evening trains that ran via the bridge also ran local in Brooklyn heading southbound. Six trains only ran between Continental Avenue and Whitehall Street in the AM rush hour, while six trains only ran between Canal Street and Continental Avenue in the PM rush hour.
The , which was rerouted from the
BMT Brighton Line
The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined ...
to the
BMT West End Line
The BMT West End Line is a line of the New York City Subway, serving the Brooklyn communities of Sunset Park, Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. The D train operates local on the entire line at all times. A ...
, replaced the N as the weekday express on the Fourth Avenue Line.
Starting on April 28, 1986, one Q train ran to Continental Avenue at 7:05 a.m., and returned in service as an N train, and an N train arrived at Continental Avenue at 3:25 p.m. began returning in service as a B train. These special B and Q trips no longer ran after May 23, 1987.
As part of the New York City Transit Authority's proposed service plan to serve the new Archer Avenue Line upper level, the N would have been extended to Jamaica Center during weekdays. When N trains terminated at 71st Avenue or
57th Street–Seventh Avenue during weekends and evenings, G trains would have been extended to Jamaica Center, and during late nights a G train shuttle would have run between Jamaica Center and
Van Wyck Boulevard
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...
. This service plan would have allowed E and F trains to remain on the Queens Boulevard mainline toward 179th Street. The final service plan, which took effect on December 11, 1988, had the extension served by E trains, with R trains extended to 179th Street.
On May 24, 1987, the N swapped northern terminals with the . The N was switched to
Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard, while the went to
Forest Hills–71st Avenue.
This was done to give the R direct access to
Jamaica Yard
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwee ...
; previously, the N had direct access to both
Jamaica Yard
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwee ...
and
Coney Island Yard
The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betw ...
, and the R, running from Bay Ridge to Astoria, lacked direct access to any yard. This change was intended to improve the appearance and reliability of service on the R, since all trains on the Astoria and Broadway Lines were part of the graffiti-free program.
Trains ran via the Manhattan Bridge during late nights and weekends. Some trains began went into service at 86th Street during the AM rush hour put-ins.
Between November 23, 1987 and May 13, 1988, one D train that arrived at Ditmars Boulevard at 7:12 a.m. returned in service as an N train.
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. Trains continued to run express in Brooklyn between
Pacific Street and
59th Street/Fourth Avenue evenings and weekends.
On June 11, 1990, trains that were put into service at Queensboro Plaza in the PM rush hour were discontinued. Between June 10, 1990 and July 25, 1992, due to construction work in the 60th Street Tunnel, trains had to run a single track. Trains operated either between Ditmars Boulevard and Canal Street, or between 57th Street and Coney Island.
The Transit Authority and politicians pressured the
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in ...
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 (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.). Southbound Brooklyn expresses ran until late evenings on Saturday,, not running on Sunday morning any more. Between early morning to early evenings, trains skipped DeKalb Avenue. Several trains after the AM rush hour went out of service at Kings Highway.
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, running local on its entire route at all times.
1990–2000
![MTA NYC Subway N train arriving at 36th Ave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/MTA_NYC_Subway_N_train_arriving_at_36th_Ave.jpg)
In November 1993, before the Manhattan Bridge's renovation was completed, the MTA proposed restoring express N service along the Fourth Avenue Line for a six-month trial period, with the M making local stops between
Pacific Street and
36th Street. Some residents of
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the ...
, opposed the proposal, which they claimed would negatively impact about 7,000 daily riders at the
45th Street and
53rd Street
53rd Street is a Midtown Manhattan, midtown cross street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, that runs adjacent to buildings such as the Citigroup Center, Citigroup building. It is 1.83 miles (2.94 km) ...
stations. On May 31, 1994, the N began running express in Brooklyn between Pacific Street and
59th Street–Fourth Avenue during weekday midday and rush hours, with the M running local during those times.
From 1994 to May 22, 1995, the southern terminal of the N was
86th Street due to rehabilitation work at
Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue
Coney may refer to:
Places
* Côney, a river in eastern France
* Coney, Georgia, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Coney Island (disambiguation)
People
* Dean Coney (born 1963), English footballer
* Hykiem Coney (1982–200 ...
. On November 4, 2001, it was cut back again as the terminal's reconstruction project continued.
From April 30, 1995 to November 12, 1995, the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed during weekday midday and weekends for structural repairs. Midday N service ran local in Brooklyn, replacing the M, which was cut back from
9th Avenue to
Chambers Street. The N continued to run express during rush hours.
2001–2010
After the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, Broadway Line service through
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
was suspended; N service was also suspended and replaced by the in Manhattan and Queens and the in Brooklyn. On October 28, N service was restored, but
Cortlandt Street remained closed until September 15, 2002.
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
The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway, mainly running under Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. The line is served by the D, N, and R at all times; the R typically runs local, while the D and N run express duri ...
. In its place, the 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.
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
At Fort Greene Park
DeKalb Avenue is a thoroughfare in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn.
It runs from Woodward Avenue (Linden Hill Cemetery) in Ridgewood, Queens to Downtown Brookly ...
). On weekdays, N trains ran express between
34th Street in Manhattan and
59th Street/Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge, and local elsewhere; several trains ran express on the entire Broadway Line and short-turned at
57th Street–Seventh Avenue or Times Square during the morning rush hour. 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
The Montague Street Tunnel is a rail tunnel of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line. The R uses the tunnel at all times, the N us ...
, replacing the train.
On May 29, 2005, the new Stillwell Avenue terminal was completed, and N service between 86th Street and Coney Island was restored.
On June 28, 2010, the N began running local in Manhattan north of
Canal Street at all times, replacing the on weekdays which was discontinued due to budget problems, effectively adopting the weekend service pattern. However, the handful of short-turn N trains continued to run express in Manhattan.
2011–present
From August 2, 2013 to September 14, 2014, the
Montague Street Tunnel
The Montague Street Tunnel is a rail tunnel of the New York City Subway under the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, connecting the BMT Broadway Line and BMT Fourth Avenue Line. The R uses the tunnel at all times, the N us ...
was closed for
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
-related repairs. During this time, overnight N service was rerouted via the Manhattan Bridge, skipping six stations it normally served.
On November 7, 2016, the MTA restored the
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. , it is served by four services, all colored : the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks during weekdays (the N and Q trains ...
services to their 2004–2010 service pattern in preparation for the rerouting of the train to the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
. 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.
[*
*] The MTA approved the service change on May 23, 2016. All short-turn N trains that originally terminated at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue were extended to
96th Street–Second Avenue on January 3, 2017 following the opening of the
Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway (internally referred to as the IND Second Avenue Line by the MTA and abbreviated to SAS) is a New York City Subway line that runs under Second Avenue on the East Side of Manhattan. The first phase of this new line, ...
.
In January 2017, the MTA revealed plans to rehabilitate the tunnel structure above the BMT Fourth Avenue Line's express tracks between
36th Street and
59th Street. As a result, from July 30, 2018 to July 29, 2019, N trains ran local along that section at all times. Between October 21, 2019 and May 4, 2020, N trains terminated at 86th Street so work could be completed to protect Coney Island Yard from flooding. An out-of-system transfer was available between the N at 86th Street and the F at
Avenue X station.
The N began running local in Manhattan in March 2020 after the W was temporarily suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
; regular N and W service was restored in June. In May 2020, the N began operating local along Fourth Avenue on most weekends to provide a transfer to the F at Fourth Avenue–Ninth Street, since the F was suspended south of
Church Avenue due to construction on the
IND Culver Line
The IND Culver Line (formerly BMT Culver Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the Culv ...
. In 2021, the northbound trips to 96th Street-Second Avenue were officially reclassified as Q trains via Sea Beach; the southbound trips from 96th Street-Second Avenue remained unchanged.
Route
Service pattern
The following table shows the lines used by the N, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:
Stations
For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.
Notes
References
External links
MTA NYC Transit – N Broadway Express*
*
{{NYCS navbox
#
New York City Subway services