Entrance to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line at Wall Street, leading to the southbound ("Downtown & Brooklyn") platform

Nomenclature used on the New York City Subway system has been defined by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to precisely identify each part of the system, both internally and publicly. Some of these date back to the original operators of the system, while others are much more recent, having been adopted because of changing conditions. The Lexington Avenue Line (sometimes called the Lex or the IRT East Side Line) is one of the major IRT lines in the New York City Subway. ... Wall Street, located at Broadway and Wall Street, is a two-track station with two side platforms that are slightly offset from one another, with glossy blue tile over the original white. ... The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system in New York City, New York, United States. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation of the State of New York chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1965. ...

These include line names (individual sections of subway, like the BMT Brighton Line); service labels, like the B, which is a single train route along several lines; and station names, like Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue (a major terminal named for both the neighborhood and the intersecting street. The service and station labels are publicly used, despite the changing nature of the service labels; the line names are lightly used on maps and rarely in public announcements, but are now commonly shown on signage on trains and in service descriptions in stations. The Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City. ... The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The track configuration around Stillwell Avenue Stillwell Avenue station, also known as Coney Island Terminal or Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station, at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, is the worlds largest single rapid transit terminal facility. ...

The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 3 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line, also known as the IRT West Side Line, is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway. ... The 4 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 6 Lexington Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Lexington Avenue Line (sometimes called the Lex or the IRT East Side Line) is one of the major IRT lines in the New York City Subway. ... The 7 Flushing Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local service along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line, with express service (7 Flushing Express) denoted by a diamond-shaped 7 train logo rather than a circular one. ... The Flushing Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The E Eighth Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... A 1941 view of a sign for the Eighth Avenue Subway The Eighth Avenue Line is the original rapid transit line of the Independent Subway System (IND), now run by the New York City Transit Authority as part of the New York City Subway system. ... The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The D Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The F Sixth Avenue Local and V Sixth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The F Sixth Avenue Local and V Sixth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the IND division of the New York City Subway system, running mostly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. ... The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway, and it is the only full line (excluding the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway shuttles) that does not provide service to Manhattan. ... The Crosstown Line is a rapid transit line of the IND division of the New York City Subway. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... The Canarsie Line, sometimes called the 14th Street-Canarsie Line, is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its Brooklyn terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... Current bullet The M Nassau Street Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system. ... The N Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The W Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway system. ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ...

Current status

Each section of subway has three identifying characteristics, line, service and color. The most constant is the line, the physical structure and tracks that trains run over. Each section of the system is assigned a unique line name, usually paired with the division (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), Independent Subway System (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. A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ... Eighth Avenue is a north-south avenue on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic. ... A 1941 view of a sign for the Eighth Avenue Subway The Eighth Avenue Line is the original rapid transit line of the Independent Subway System (IND), now run by the New York City Transit Authority as part of the New York City Subway system. ...

Public usage of the line names varies widely. Internally, the MTA uses the names, both for legal reasons and to describe lines, services and locations without ambiguity. Even the terms BMT, IRT and IND are still used in line, structure and building descriptions and capital contract specifications.

Each operating service or route is assigned a letter or number. This is a path that the train service uses along the various lines. These are the most familiar names among the public, but may change frequently during construction or as services are rerouted to make best use of the network. Former IRT services (now known as Division A) are assigned numbers, and former BMT and IND services (now known as Division B) are assigned letters. IRT trains and tunnels are narrower, so the two do not mix in revenue service. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ...

Each service is also assigned a color, corresponding to the downtown Manhattan trunk line it uses; the Crosstown Line, which doesn't carry services to Manhattan, is colored light green, and all shuttles are colored dark gray. Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ...

Stations usually bear street names, but may also be named after neighborhoods or prominent locations ("Brighton Beach", "Times Square") or combinations of these ("47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center"). Many stations share names, so to uniquely identify a station, the line name or cross street must be given. Usually identifying the service is also sufficient, but as services are transient, this is not a permanent label.

In addition to the typical street or location names assigned to most stations, terminals (the ends of lines and/or services) also usually bear the name of the local community ("Middle Village - Metropolitan Avenue"), especially on maps and signs.

Diamond services

Normal and diamond 7 bullets.

Despite its efforts toward single identifiers for each service, the MTA has adopted a variation of a signage practice that began with street railways, in which a variant service is identified with a special color or symbol on the route number signs. For example, if a service was designated 10, a short-line of the service might have a diagonal stroke through the number. This informed boarding riders that the car would not travel all the way to its usual destination. This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... The 7 Flushing Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local service along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line, with express service (7 Flushing Express) denoted by a diamond-shaped 7 train logo rather than a circular one. ... a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...

This has been implemented on the subway by use of diamond services. Since a route letter or number is ordinarily presented inside a circle, variants of the same service are shown as the same letter or number inside a diamond shape.

Current diamond services are:

• 6 regular service all local; daytime directional diamond service express in the Bronx (with local service cut back to East 177th Street)
• 7 regular service all local; daytime directional diamond service express in Queens

Until the end of May 2005, 5 rush hour trips to 238th Street Bronx were marked with a diamond, with regular service to Dyre Avenue. Both services run express in the Bronx between East 180th Street and 3rd Avenue/149th Street during rush hours in the peak direction The 6 Lexington Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 7 Flushing Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local service along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line, with express service (7 Flushing Express) denoted by a diamond-shaped 7 train logo rather than a circular one. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ...

Current rollsigns include several unused options to replace these. To replace the green 5 and 6 diamond services are green 8, 10 and 12 circles, and a purple 11 circle is present for a replacement of the 7 diamond. A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ...

On the other hand, the rush-hour only skip-stop service that complements the J is designated Z rather than with diamonds. Similarly the 9 ran skip-stop with the 1 until May 2005. Skip-stop is a public transit service pattern. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...

Diamond service was also introduced on the BMT Brighton Line during the Manhattan Bridge closure, with Brooklyn locals being the Circle Q and expresses being the Diamond Q. Other services have also used the diamond before and during the closure; at least one (the diamond R) dated from a BMT special service using the same number (2) as the main service that became the R. The Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended...

Describing directions

Public information

Directions along a line in Manhattan or the Bronx are usually described as uptown and downtown, roughly corresponding to compass north amd south. Uptown and downtown are not always meaningful on lines in the other boroughs or on the crosstown IRT Flushing and BMT Canarsie Lines or the downtown-only BMT Nassau Street Line. Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ... This article is about the navigational instrument. ... Compass rose with north highlighted and at top North is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the primary direction: north is used (explicitly or implicitly) to define all other directions; the (visual) top edges of maps usually correspond to the... A compass rose with South highlighted South is one of the four cardinal or compass directions. ... The definitions of the political subdivisions of the state of New York differ from those in certain other countries or even various other U.S. states, leading to misunderstandings regarding the governmental nature of an area. ... The Flushing Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division. ... The Canarsie Line, sometimes called the 14th Street-Canarsie Line, is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its Brooklyn terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood. ... The Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system. ...

On the BMT system, most in-station signage specified To City and From City. Currently signs may typically read To Manhattan and To Coney Island, To Flushing, or any other outer borough destination, and the train is described as being city-bound or for instance Flushing-bound. An exception is the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn, where uptown means toward 95th Street in Bay Ridge, which is compass south, and downtown means to Downtown Brooklyn, which is compass north. A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The BMT Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway. ... The Brooklyn Bridge in 1890, seven years after its opening Kings County in New York State Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. ... Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. ...

Internal usage

In the U.S., most railroads have only two railroad directions. In this vein, all New York City subway lines are deemed to run north-south. In many cases, this is close to the related compass direction, but this is not always possible. Any line that enters Manhattan from the Bronx or Queens heads south into Manhattan; any line entering Manhattan from Brooklyn goes north into Manhattan. Directions of other lines are determined by following the services that run over them; except for the BMT Eastern Division services (over the Williamsburg Bridge), which change direction at Chambers Street, every service has one north end and one south end. On the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle, railroad north is compass west, due to the line's former status as part of the main line. The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Most railroads in the U.S. use railroad directions to describe the directions that lines on their systems run, which often vary from compass directions. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... Fireworks on opening night, 1903. ... Current bullet R12 end rollsign 1967-1968 and 1968-1977 bullets (in a circle) The 42nd Street Shuttle (also Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle) is a line and service of the IRT division of the New York City Subway. ...

In fact, very few track connections exist to allow a train to reverse railroad direction without running around a loop or literally reversing direction by backing up. The IND system (except on the ex-LIRR Rockaway Line) has none of these; this philosophy may explain the lack of track connections between parallel IND lines at Seventh Avenue and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street. The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ... The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a railroad that serves the length of Long Island, New York. ... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ...

Before Unification, all BMT lines ran east-west, west being towards Manhattan. After Unification, west became north and east became south.

History

This nomenclature has been complicated by the differing systems and cultures of the former private companies that operated parts of the system, by the need for non-ambiguous names in a city where there are stations with the same name on different lines in different locations and even different Boroughs, and by changing perceptions of the best way to communicate information to a diverse public. The definitions of the political subdivisions of the state of New York differ from those in certain other countries or even various other U.S. states, leading to misunderstandings regarding the governmental nature of an area. ...

Up until 1940, there were three major operators of New York subway and elevated lines, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Independent Subway System (ISS or ICOS before 1940, now IND). A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ...

Service labels have always been assigned based on their outer line (Brooklyn on the BMT, Bronx on the IRT and IND) and then by the Manhattan trunk if necessary to distinguish multiple services on the same line.

BMT

Typical pre-1967 BMT rollsign number

The BMT was the inheritor of subway, elevated and surface rapid transit lines that had been built in Brooklyn by a variety of previous operators, mainly surface steam railroads to Coney Island and elevated railroads in more populated areas. The BMT identified most of its lines by the common names given to them, often going well back into the 19th century. Services on these lines usually had the same name as the branch line they ran on; for example, the line that the current F service runs on in Brooklyn was (and is) the Culver Line, and the BMT signed these trains Culver Local or Culver Express. A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... This article describes subways as mass transit lines. ... Metro and Subway redirect here. ... Image of Coney Island (middle left of picture) taken by NASA. The peninsula at right is Rockaway, Queens. ... Subway redirects here; for the restaurant named Subway, see Subway (restaurant). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The BMT Culver Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, running from Coney Island through Gravesend to Ditmas Avenue, where it becomes the IND Culver Line. ...

Partly as a result of its steam railroad history, BMT terminals were far more likely to be named after neighborhoods or towns, rather than streets, so trains were signed for Coney Island, Canarsie and Jamaica rather than Stillwell Avenue, Rockaway Parkway and 168th Street. Stations also tended to use local names, but this gradually changed, especially as lines were upgraded, so that stations like Bath Junction on the Sea Beach Line became New Utrecht Avenue and Manhattan Terrace on the Brighton Line became Avenue J. BMT Sea Beach Line - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City. ...

The BMT introduced numbers for all its services in 1924 but these were mostly for map purposes, since none of equipment displayed line numbers until the D-type Triplex cars were introduced in 1927, and these only on the front of the trains (but later also on the sides[1]). In 1931 these numbers were also used on 16 IND R1 cars when they were tested by the City on BMT lines.
1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The R1 subway car was the first order of original passenger stock for the IND New York City Subway. ...

IRT

Typical pre-1967 IRT rollsign number

The IRT was the contractor with the City of New York to operate the first subway lines; by that time it was already leasing all the elevated railways in Manhattan. Unlike the BMT, the IRT had multiple long mainlines (eventually six of them) from which several branch lines extended into the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. The IRT therefore named their services for these mainlines rather than their branches. The branch lines were mentioned on the destination signs instead, to that typical signage read Lexington Avenue Express to Woodlawn - Jerome and Utica Avenue - Brooklyn, meaning Woodlawn on the Jerome Avenue Line and Utica Avenue on the Brooklyn Line. Where a service ended in downtown Manhattan, it simply carried the destination name, for example South Ferry or Chatham Square. A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ... The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... -1... Subway redirects here; for the restaurant named Subway, see Subway (restaurant). ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ... Queens Borough in New York City Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, is geographically the largest of the five boroughs of New York City. ... The Brooklyn Bridge in 1890, seven years after its opening Kings County in New York State Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. ... Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ...

The IRT subways used a logical numbering system, but the numbers were not used publicly until the R12 cars were introduced in 1948, under City management. Due to the lack of new IRT construction, this system has largely stayed intact to this day, with the only major changes being at the Brooklyn end.
1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Brooklyn Bridge in 1890, seven years after its opening Kings County in New York State Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. ...

IND

Typical pre-1967 IND rollsign letter

The IND adopted the IRT system whole but reversed the terminal and line name on the destination signs: Queens - 179th St. for 179th Street terminal on the Queens Boulevard Line. The IND also adopted a similar logical labeling system, but used them publicly on trains and maps. Single letters were used to indicate an express service and double letters indicates locals. For example, the CC ran local and the C ran express on the Concourse and Eighth Avenue Lines. A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ... The Queens Boulevard Line is a fully underground line of the New York City Subway, as part of the IND division. ...

Unlike the IRT labels, the IND letters no longer follow the original pattern; the uptown branches of the B and C services have been switched via a complex process that involved the former AA eventually becoming the C and the B moving to the Concourse Line. Again, major changes have been made at the Brooklyn end (and in downtown Manhattan), but the system was designed for flexibility on that end.

Unification and BMT/IND service integration

When all three systems came under city ownership in 1940, essentially nothing was done to regularize signage for two decades. Stations on the IRT and BMT still said INTERBOROUGH or BMT LINES or sometimes older designations. Services continued to be signed by their traditional methods for each system. IND and post-Second World War ("R-type") equipment used BMT numbers when operating on BMT services. With the introduction of R12 equipment on the IRT in 1948, IRT subway services (except for the 42nd Street Shuttle) began using the route numbers still used today, which had been used internally but not on trains or maps. Astoria Line trains were only signed as 8 for a year, after which the line, which had been shared with the BMT, was converted for BMT operation only (and the Flushing Line carried only IRT trains). Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Dichlorodifluoromethane, or R-12, usually sold under the brand name Freon-12, is a halomethane used as a refrigerant and aerosol spray propellant until its manufacture was discontinued due to concerns about damage to the ozone layer. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The S 42nd Street Shuttle is a service on the New York City Subway. ... The Astoria Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, serving the neighborhood of Astoria, Queens. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The Flushing Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division. ...

In 1960, with the delivery of the first R27 class cars for the BMT, the New York City Transit Authority (TA), which had become the operator of the combined system in 1953, began the introduction of letters for BMT services in anticipation of integrating the BMT and IND operationally. The last IND letter used was H, and the letter I was skipped as being too similar to the number 1. The BMT Eastern Division services got the letters J, K, L and M. The BMT Southern Division services were designated N, Q, R and T. S was still reserved for "Special" and SS began to be used for shuttles. 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, NYCT or simply the TA for Transit Authority) is a New York State Authority that operates buses and subway trains in New York City. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Since the BMT was not amenable to the neat IND system, the TA had to make some compromises. They tried to follow the IND system of single-letter expresses and double-letter locals, but the system began to break down under the complex BMT routings. Where on the IND a local simply doubled the express letter (A Eighth Avenue Express, AA Eighth Avenue Local), some lines had multiple local services with different routings. For instance the two Brighton Local services, one via the Manhattan Bridge and the other via the Montague Street Tunnel, were designated QB and QT respectively. The short-lived Sea Beach Line super-express service was made NX. The TA had no specific lettering plan for the two Wall Street special rush-hour services, so it just designated these M (Nassau Street Express) temporarily, a letter reserved for use on the Myrtle Avenue Line's Nassau Street service. For map and sign purposes MJ was assigned to the last old-style elevated line, standing for "Myrtle Avenue Line to Jay Street". View from the East River Cross section The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. ... BMT Sea Beach Line - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway, as part of the BMT division. ...

During this period, the TA did not change sign rolls on BMT equipment (the D-types and R16s) that carried numbers, so that on the Brighton Line, the R27-operated locals were signed QB or QT but the D-type-operated expresses continued to carry the number 1.
An R-16 Missile The R-16 was the first successful ICBM deployed by the Soviet Union. ...

A typical post-1967 side rollsign

In anticipation of the 1967 opening of the Chrystie Street Connection, which combined two major BMT and IND services as single routes and resulted in numerous other changes (especially on the 14 and 15), the TA decided to adopt universal systems of signage and nomenclature. The rationale was that this would make the system more consistent and more understandable for newcomers to the city and tourists, who were presumed to be uninterested or even confused in historic or community names, or might not be native English speakers. The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 3 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 4 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 6 Lexington Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 7 Flushing Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local service along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line, with express service (7 Flushing Express) denoted by a diamond-shaped 7 train logo rather than a circular one. ... 8 was a designation given to several IRT services of the New York City Subway. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The D Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The E Eighth Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The E Eighth Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The F Sixth Avenue Local and V Sixth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway, and it is the only full line (excluding the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway shuttles) that does not provide service to Manhattan. ... R1 end rollsign R10 end rollsign 1967-1979 bullet (in a circle) Categories: New York City Subway stubs ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... Current bullet The M Nassau Street Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The N Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The N Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... Current bullet R12 end rollsign 1967-1968 and 1968-1977 bullets (in a circle) The 42nd Street Shuttle (also Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle) is a line and service of the IRT division of the New York City Subway. ... R1 end rollsign R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1967-1968 and 1968-1979 bullets (in a circle) The S-Franklin Avenue Shuttle is a shuttle train service of the New York City Subway operating in Brooklyn, New York. ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway System, and is one of the few connections between lines of the BMT and IND divisions. ... K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... Nomenclature is a system of naming and categorizing objects in a given category. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

1. Branch line names would be eliminated from signage and maps; all services that had Manhattan mainlines would be identified by those names only.
2. Services would be identified only by letters or numbers wherever possible, even when announcing reroutings.
3. Terminals would be identified by street names rather than community names where that existed. This had actually begun with the introduction of R-type equipment, when destinations such as Woodlawn and Canarsie were changed to read Woodlawn Road (which is no longer the name of a road) and Rockaway Parkway.
4. All services would be color-coded for map and rollsign purposes. This proved a daunting task, since the TA wanted to ensure that no two services with the exact same color would operate over the same line. With a lot of imagination and a lot of color variations, this goal was achieved but proved unwieldy. The colors didn't have any particular logic and still produced ambiguity; notably the A service and the E service shared miles of line between Midtown Manhattan and the Rockaway Line in Queens, one as an express, the other as a local. But the A was assigned dark blue and the E light blue, not always easily distinguishable.

The 8 designation was brought back for the only remaining IRT elevated service, the IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx but trains never displayed the number. When the Lo-V cars (which did not have front signs) were replaced by R12 cars the front roll signs in use did not contain the number 8 and instead diplayed the word SHUTTLE. The Q, QT and T disappeared when the Chrystie Street Connection opened; thus they never had colors (until after the elimination of double letters, when the Q came back; by that time the current color system was in place). By 1968, all shuttles (SS) were green. A short-lived shuttle between Metropolitan Av and Myrtle Av was added in 1969. A map of the world by Johannes Kepler A map is a simplified depiction of a space, a navigational aid which highlights relations between objects within that space. ... A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ... View of Midtown from Empire State Building. ... 8 was a designation given to several IRT services of the New York City Subway. ... The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... Subway redirects here; for the restaurant named Subway, see Subway (restaurant). ... The Third Avenue Line was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, USA. It passed into the ownership of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and eventually the New York City Subway system before being closed in sections from 1950 to 1973. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... The R12s were the first rolling stock for IRT division. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The T is the future designation of service on the planned Second Avenue Subway line. ...

After Chrystie Street

The system immediately showed evidence of problems for various reasons:

1. Different services at common stations shared common destinations by different routes. N, B and QJ services arriving at DeKalb Avenue, for example, all had Coney Island as a destination, but had no mention of the widely separated routes (Sea Beach Line, West End Line, Brighton Line) used to get there.
2. Service labels are ephemeral. The TA has frequently shifted lettered routes from one branch line to another, and introduced, changed or deleted letters, making a description like "the D Line" meaningless. The D service has been on three completely different Brooklyn branch lines since 1954. K was introduced for a service on the Broadway-Brooklyn Line but was later used for the Eighth Avenue Line local which had formerly been AA.
3. The same lettered or numbered lines may have different destinations by time of day, despite a largely successful effort to minimize this problem.
4. Newcomers to New York City have recently shown more interest in their neighborhoods and city history, as have long-term residents. Some people feel that the emphasis on letters and numbers for routes and street names instead of communities is dehumanizing.

DeKalb Avenue has six tracks, with island platforms between the first and second, and fifth and sixth tracks (the two center tracks have no platforms). ... Image of Coney Island (middle left of picture) taken by NASA. The peninsula at right is Rockaway, Queens. ... BMT Sea Beach Line - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The West End Line, now a subway line in Brooklyn, New York City, is a branch line from the Broadway (Manhattan)-Fourth Avenue (Brooklyn) subway, serving the communities of Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. ... The Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City. ... The Brooklyn Bridge in 1890, seven years after its opening Kings County in New York State Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A 1941 view of a sign for the Eighth Avenue Subway The Eighth Avenue Line is the original rapid transit line of the Independent Subway System (IND), now run by the New York City Transit Authority as part of the New York City Subway system. ...

Elimination of double letters

In June 1979 the former color scheme was scrapped, and the TA settled on the more coherent policy of assigning the same color to every service on each Manhattan mainline, plus different colors for lines not entering Manhattan, the colors still used today. Nevertheless, no New York subway line is referred to by its color - e.g., BMT Broadway Line services as the "Yellow Line". There are simply too many such services on too many different lines and destinations for the colors to be meaningful as line names, as in other cities. June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

The JFK Express, started in 1978 and discontinued in 1990, used a turquoise bullet; this stayed through the color change.
1978 brochure Ticket Train In The 1980s The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a premium-fare service of the New York City Subway connecting midtown Manhattan to Howard Beach-JFK Airport on the IND Rockaway Line, where a bus connected to JFK Airport. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On May 5, 1986, the last significant change in route identification policy was made after the TA had decided in 1981 that the single and double letter system of the original IND was no longer meaningful, given that there were many services that were express for part of their route and local for other parts. In most cases, this was accomplished by simply eliminating the second letter in route designations. There is no longer a letter designation for specials (formerly S). K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... R1 end rollsign R10 end rollsign 1967-1979 bullet (in a circle) Categories: New York City Subway stubs ... The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway, and it is the only full line (excluding the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway shuttles) that does not provide service to Manhattan. ... The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway, and it is the only full line (excluding the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway shuttles) that does not provide service to Manhattan. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the last decade the TA has moved steadily toward using traditional line names on maps and especially on signage. All of the southern Brooklyn subway lines now show the traditional line names. On BMT/IND equipment branch line names frequently appear on operating trains, in addition the route letter. Trains on the A and Q services using R32 equipment with rollsigns, for example, read: A rollsign on the MBTA Red Line in Boston. ...

 A | Wash Hts - 8th Ave - Fulton Express Q | Broadway Brighton Express 

One change which exceeds the pre-Unification practice has to do with the use of locality names. Where these were discouraged during the 1960s where they had been inherited from private operators, virtually all terminal stations are described by both a community and a street name; i.e., Inwood-207th Street for the northern destination of the A service; Wakefield-241st Street for the northern desination of the 2 service. The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

Route consistency

Since the unsuccessful attempts at applying the briefly popular schematic theory of diagrammatic maps, line-by-line color coding, and exclusive use of numbers and letters for service and line descriptions, the MTA has moved steadily toward a more traditional approach, with more geographically correct maps and use of traditional line and community names on maps and public signage. A schematic of the Washington Metro. ...

Concurrently, it has been refining its use of the number and letter system to try to achieve consistency across the system. One major push has been an attempt to have as many services as possible serve the same stations, routes and terminals at all times with the major exception for most services being the early morning hours of approximately midnight to 5 am (00:00-05:00). To this end, the MTA took advantage of the unavoidable service changes forced by the partial Manhattan Bridge closures to reroute some services when all bridge tracks reopened in 2004. Particularly, the Brooklyn branch lines of the B and D services were switched, with the B becoming the BMT Brighton Line express service and the D becoming the BMT West End Line express. This enabled the D, a full time service, to operate continuously on the same route and terminals from the Bronx to Coney Island, while the part-time B was meshed with the part-time Brighton Express service. View from the East River Cross section The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City. ... Route designation on BMT Triplex equipment The West End Line, now a subway line in Brooklyn, New York City, is a branch line from the Broadway ( Manhattan)-Fourth Avenue (Brooklyn) subway, serving the communities of Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... Image of Coney Island (middle left of picture) taken by NASA. The peninsula at right is Rockaway, Queens. ...

Operator Codes

Train Operators or simply T/O's have a series of 12- codes to describe incidents while on their run. One is a 12-9 which means Person Under Train.

See also

• Table showing when each service label was used

Current services The New York City Subway system has 27 different train routes, some with multiple patterns. ... The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system in New York City, New York, United States. ... Current services The New York City Subway system has 27 different train routes, some with multiple patterns. ... The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 3 Seventh Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 4 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 6 Lexington Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The 7 Flushing Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local service along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line, with express service (7 Flushing Express) denoted by a diamond-shaped 7 train logo rather than a circular one. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The B Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express and C Eighth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The D Sixth Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The E Eighth Avenue Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The F Sixth Avenue Local and V Sixth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is a service of the New York City Subway, and it is the only full line (excluding the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway shuttles) that does not provide service to Manhattan. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... Current bullet The M Nassau Street Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The N Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The F Sixth Avenue Local and V Sixth Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The W Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... Current bullet R1 end rollsign for IND specials R12 end rollsigns for the IRT R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1968-1979 bullet for all shuttles (in a circle) Three services in the New York Subway are designated as S (shuttle). ... Current bullet R12 end rollsign 1967-1968 and 1968-1977 bullets (in a circle) The 42nd Street Shuttle (also Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle) is a line and service of the IRT division of the New York City Subway. ... R1 end rollsign R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1967-1968 and 1968-1979 bullets (in a circle) The S-Franklin Avenue Shuttle is a shuttle train service of the New York City Subway operating in Brooklyn, New York. ... The S-Rockaway Park Shuttle is a shuttle train service in Queens, New York on the New York City Subway. ... 8 was a designation given to several IRT services of the New York City Subway. ... The 1 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local and 9 Broadway-Seventh Avenue Local are two services of the New York City Subway. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... R1 end rollsign R10 end rollsign 1967-1979 bullet (in a circle) Categories: New York City Subway stubs ... K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... The T is the future designation of service on the planned Second Avenue Subway line. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... Several New York City Subway service labels have never been used, but have appeared on rollsigns. ... 1978 brochure Ticket Train In The 1980s The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a premium-fare service of the New York City Subway connecting midtown Manhattan to Howard Beach-JFK Airport on the IND Rockaway Line, where a bus connected to JFK Airport. ... The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current and former R services The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... The T is the future designation of service on the planned Second Avenue Subway line. ... The N Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. ... R1 end rollsign R27 end rollsign The Culver Shuttle was a service of the New York City Subway system, running along the BMT Culver Line. ... The service advisory discontinuing 6 service 6 was the BMTs designation for trains that used the BMT Fifth Avenue Line (labeled the Fifth Avenue-Bay Ridge Line). ... R1 end rollsign R27 end rollsign for BMT shuttles 1967-1968 and 1968-1979 bullets (in a circle) The S-Franklin Avenue Shuttle is a shuttle train service of the New York City Subway operating in Brooklyn, New York. ... Current bullet The M Nassau Street Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... Current bullet The M Nassau Street Local is a service of the New York City Subway. ... 12 was the BMTs designation for trains that used the BMT Lexington Avenue Line. ... R1 end rollsigns The service advisory discontinuing 13 service west of Rockaway Avenue 13 was the BMTs designation for service on the BMT Fulton Street Line (not to be confused with todays IND Fulton Street Line, which uses a portion of the old BMT line at its east... K (and the earlier KK) was the label for two completely different New York City Subway services. ... The J Nassau Street Express and Z Nassau Street Express are two services of the New York City Subway. ... The L 14th Street-Canarsie Local is a service of the New York City Subway, running local along the full length of the BMT Canarsie Line, 24 hours a day. ... The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the operator of the original New York Subway line that opened in 1904 and additional rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... A 1914 map showing what was at the time the proposed expansion for the BRT. The only major differences from what was built is that a new 60th Street Tunnel was used rather than the Queensboro Bridge, the Manhattan-side Brooklyn Bridge connection was never built, and several lines ended... The Independent Subway System (IND, formerly ISS), and even earlier the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOS) or Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad was one of the three systems that is now part of the New York City Subway. ... This article or section should include material from Independent Subway System#The IND Second System 1929 plan The IND Second System was a plan for a major expansion of the city-owned Independent Subway System in New York, New York. ... IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line Brooklyn Branch 42nd Street Shuttle Dyre Avenue Line Eastern Parkway Line Flushing Line Jerome Avenue Line Lenox Avenue Line Lexington Avenue Line Nostrand Avenue Line White Plains Road Line BMT 63rd Street Line Archer Avenue Line Astoria Line Brighton Line Broadway Line Canarsie Line Culver... Current services The New York City Subway system has 27 different train routes, some with multiple patterns. ... These are the stations on the New York City Subway system. ... This is a list of terminal stations on the New York City Subway, in other words stations where services terminate. ... The New York City Subway was formed from three different systems, the IRT, BMT and IND. For operational purposes, the IRT is A Division and the BMT and IND make B Division; however, common usage calls the three systems divisions. ... The following free transfers exist between the three divisions of the New York City Subway ( IRT/ IND/ BMT). ... The following rail yards serve the New York City Subway: 36th-38th Street Yard - on the BMT West End Line 137th Street Yard - on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line East 180th Street Yard - on the IRT White Plains Road Line 207th Street Yard - on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue... The accessible stations and lines Very few stations on the New York City Subway are handicapped accessible; most that are lie on recently constructed lines or are terminal stations. ... The Dual Contracts of 1913, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. ... In the U.S., Chaining is a method by which railroads precisely measure and specify locations along the line. ... The New York City Subway has had a long history, beginning as many disjointed systems and eventually merging under City control. ... The Centennial Holiday Shoppers Special, a train of R1 and R9 cars that ran during the Subway Centennial in late 2004. ... Straphanger is a nickname for someone who is a standing subway or bus passenger who grips a hanging strap for support. ... New York City boasts the most extensive network of public transportation in the United States. ... Amtrak is the trademark name of the intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. ... The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a railroad that serves the length of Long Island, New York. ... Metro-North (officially MTA Metro-North Railroad) is a suburban commuter railroad running service from New York City to the northern suburbs in New York State and Connecticut. ... New Jersey Transit Arrow III at West Windsor, NJ Hudson-Bergen Light Rail vehicle at 2nd Street station New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) is a statewide public transportation system serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. ... PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) is a rapid transit system linking Manhattan, New York with New Jersey, and providing service to Jersey City, Hoboken, Harrison, and Newark. ... Staten Island Railway (SIR) or Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) is a rapid transit line operating in the Borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA. It began, like the BMT lines to Coney Island, as a typical railway, but it now uses subway cars (R44). ... Airtrain at JFK. Note aluminum strip between rails. ... The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway (suspended cable car) in New York, New York, United States of America, connecting Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. ...

References and external links

• NYCsubway.org - Historical Maps
• NYCsubway.org - Post-War to Today
• NYCsubway.org - FAQ: The Letter, Number and Color Codes of the New York Subways
• Line by Line History
• The Best Subway Map in Years, New York Times July 1, 1979 page E20
• Hey, What's a "K" Train? MTA service notice, 1986
• Different ways of reckoning IND and BMT, Eric B, posted on SubChat April 21, 2005