New York City Subway - Lines and Routes

Lines and Routes

Many rapid transit systems run relatively static routings, so that a train "line" is more or less synonymous with a train "route". In New York, routings change often as new connections are opened or service patterns change. Within the nomenclature of the subway, the "line" describes the physical railroad track or series of tracks that a train "route" uses on its way from one terminal to another. "Routes" (also called "services") are distinguished by a letter or a number and "Lines" have names. They are also designations for trains, as exemplified in the Billy Strayhorn song Take the "A" Train. This terminology is also used to a loose extent in the Taipei Metro.

There are 24 train services in the subway system, including three short shuttles. Each route has a color and a local or express designation representing the Manhattan trunk line of the particular service. The color lime green is exclusively assigned to the Crosstown Line route since it operates entirely outside Manhattan while the shuttles are all assigned dark slate gray. The 1, 6, 7, C, G, L, M and R trains are fully local; making all stops. The 2, 3, 4, 5, <6>, <7>, A, B, D, E, F, N and Q trains have portions of express and local service. The J train normally operates local, but during rush hours it is joined by the Z train in the peak direction. Both run local, express or skip-stop on different parts of their route. The letter S is used for three shuttle services.

The current color system depicted on official subway maps was proposed by R. Raleigh D'Adamo, a lawyer who entered a contest sponsored by the Transit Authority in 1964. D'Adamo proposed replacing a map that used only three colors (representing the three operating entities of the subway network) with a map that used a different color for each service. D'Adamo's contest entry shared first place with two others and led to the Transit Authority adopting a multi-colored scheme. However, the lines and services are not referred to by color (e.g., Blue Line or Green Line), although the colors are often assigned through their groups.

Though the subway system operates on a 24-hour basis, some of the designated routes do not run, run as a shorter route or run with a different stopping pattern during late night hours. In addition to these regularly scheduled changes, because there is no nightly system shutdown for maintenance, tracks and stations must be maintained while the system is operating. To accommodate such work, services are usually changed during midday, overnight hours, and weekends.