Early history

The A and AA were the first services on the IND Eighth Avenue Line when it opened on September 10, 1932. The Independent Subway System (IND) used single letters to refer to express services and double letters for local services. The A ran express between 207th Street and Chambers Street, and the AA ran local between 168th Street and Chambers Street, known at the time as Hudson Terminal. During late-night hours (from 1:45 a.m. to 5:45 a.m.) and on Sundays, the A did not run and the AA made all stops along the line.^[7][8]: 15

The A was extended to Jay Street–Borough Hall when the Cranberry Street Tunnel to Brooklyn opened on February 1, 1933,^[9][10] and to Bergen Street, when the extension opened on March 20.^[11] On July 1, the A began running express at all times, stopping at 155th Street and 163rd Street during late nights.^[8]: 82 The A was extended to Church Avenue on October 7.^[12]

On April 9, 1936, the IND Fulton Street Line was opened to Rockaway Avenue.^[13] The 1936 extension played an integral part in the establishment of Bedford-Stuyvesant as Brooklyn's central African American community. The A train connected Harlem, Manhattan's central African American community, to areas of Bedford-Stuyvesant that provided residential opportunities for African Americans not found throughout the rest of New York City.^[14]

On December 30, 1946, and November 28, 1948, the line was extended to Broadway–East New York (now Broadway Junction) and Euclid Avenue, respectively.^{[15][8]: 82} On October 24, 1949, express service in Brooklyn to Broadway–East New York began with the A running express during rush hours, with the E extended to provide local service.^[12][16]

Extensions to Ozone Park and the Rockaways

On April 29, 1956, Grant Avenue was opened and the line was extended over the BMT Fulton Street Line to Lefferts Boulevard.^[17] On weekdays except midnights, alternate trains terminated at Lefferts Boulevard and at Euclid Avenue. During weekends, they terminated at Euclid Avenue with a shuttle to Lefferts Boulevard.^[12][18]

Two months later, on June 28, 1956, the former Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch, having been rebuilt to subway specifications,^[19] began service to Rockaway Park^[20] and Wavecrest (Beach 25th Street).^[21][22] At this time, rush hour express service on the Fulton Street Line with the E train began.

On September 16, 1956, the A was extended to the Rockaways, replacing the E. At the time, alternate trains continued running to Lefferts Boulevard.^[12] On January 27, 1957, non-rush hour through service to the Rockaways was discontinued and was replaced by a shuttle running between Euclid Avenue and Wavecrest (now Beach 25th Street). Non-rush hour A train service was now to Lefferts Boulevard.

On June 18, 1957, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans to have Rockaway-bound A trains skip Grant Avenue, Hudson Street, and Boyd Street during rush hours on a one-month pilot, to take effect July 1. The change was made to determine whether ten minutes could be reduced off of travel times to the Rockaways; the NYCTA only believed it would save three minutes.^[23][24] In the face of community opposition, the NYCTA announced that it would take more time to review the change, meaning that it ultimately did not take effect on July 1.^[25]

On January 16, 1958, with the opening of the new terminal Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue, rush hour A service was extended. On September 8, 1958, the A train replaced the E train in the Rockaways again, and A trains resumed alternating between Euclid Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard. "Round-robin" service from Euclid Avenue to both Rockaway terminals began during non-rush hours, while through A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard.^[26] On September 8, 1959, the A began to run local in Brooklyn during rush hours, making it local at all times in Brooklyn, as the E became express in Brooklyn during rush hours. On July 9, 1967, the A trains running to Euclid Avenue were extended to Far Rockaway middays, evenings, and weekends, replacing the HH shuttle on that branch.^[27][28]

Simplifying service patterns

As part of systemwide changes in bus and subway service, major changes were made to A service in Brooklyn and Queens on January 2, 1973. The A train became the express service along Fulton Street and the E train became the local during rush hours.^[29][30] Express service would be provided for a longer period during rush hours as the span of E service to Brooklyn, which would cover local stops, was also increased.^[31] In addition, the A trips that terminated at Euclid Avenue during rush hours were extended to Far Rockaway, replacing E service. Service would now run to Far Rockaway between 5:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.^[32][27] A trains would alternate between Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway. These changes were initially supposed to take effect on September 11, 1972.^[33]

On August 30, 1976, the CC became the Fulton Street Local during rush hours, replacing E service.^[34] On August 27, 1977, the A began making local stops in Manhattan during late nights, when the AA was not running.^[35]

On December 11, 1988, A trains began running local between 145th Street and 168th Street on weekends to replace the discontinued K (formerly AA) service, and express on the IND Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn during middays and rush hours, with the C providing local service during those times.^[36] On September 30, 1990, A trains began operating local between 145th Street and 168th Street during weekday evenings.^[37]

In 1991, at a series of meetings, the NYCTA presented proposed changes to A, C, and H service that would shorten the length of the C, simplify the service pattern during late nights to most efficiently serve the majority of riders, provide direct express service to Rockaway Park during rush hours in the peak direction, and provide shuttle connections during non-peak periods between Rockaway Park and through A train service. The service pattern devised was designed to improve operations by reducing route length and complexity, making service more attractive, simplifying confusing service patterns, and reducing transfers for passengers traveling during late nights.^[38]

At the time, A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard and Far Rockaway during the day while the C ran to Rockaway Park during rush hours. During late nights, A service ran to Lefferts Boulevard, while service to both branches in the Rockaways was provided by round-robin H shuttle service to Euclid Avenue. As part of the changes proposed, round-robin shuttle service would be discontinued; late-night A service would run from Manhattan through to Far Rockaway; and service to Lefferts Boulevard and Rockaway Park would be provided by separate shuttle services with timed transfers to through A service. Rush hour local C service to Rockaway Park would be replaced by through A express service that ran every 20 minutes in the peak direction for a period of one hour and twenty minutes in rush hours to and from 59th Street–Columbus Circle. The initial proposal had these trips terminate at 34th Street, but this was changed to 59th Street following public comments. These five rush hour express trips were marketed as a "commuter rail style service", and special efforts were to be made to follow the arrival and departure times listed in the route's timetable, which was publicly distributed to riders. In addition, H service to Rockaway Park would be replaced by the Rockaway Park Shuttle, which would run between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park, and C service would be truncated to Euclid Avenue.^[38]

In April 1992, the MTA Board approved the proposed change to service in the Rockaways, which were expected to encourage ridership growth in the long term, and reduced NYCTA's annual operating budget by $20,000.^[38] The changes took effect on October 23, 1992, with modification: Late night shuttle service to Lefferts Boulevard would terminate at Euclid Avenue, not Rockaway Boulevard.^[39] Later on, the rush hour A trips to Rockaway Park were extended from 59th Street to Dyckman Street and Inwood–207th Street.^[40]

On May 29, 1994, A trains began running express on weekends from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. between 168th Street and 145th Street, with C trains trains being extended from 145th Street to 168th Street to cover local stops.^[41] A corresponding change was made to weekday midday A service on April 30, 1995, though this change was discontinued on November 12, 1995. On March 1, 1998, A trains began running express between 168th Street and 145th Street during middays and early evenings, with local service provided by extended C service. On May 2, 1999, the A became the express on the Fulton Street Line at all times except late nights, and C service was extended from World Trade Center to Euclid Avenue during late weekday evenings and weekends to provide local service along the line.^[27][6]

21st century

On January 23, 2005, a fire at the Chambers Street signal room crippled A and C service. Initial assessments suggested that it would take several years to restore normal service, but the damaged equipment was replaced with available spare parts, and normal service resumed on April 21.^[42][43]

A service was affected by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, due to extreme damage to the IND Rockaway Line. Trains that normally traveled to Far Rockaway or Rockaway Park terminated at Howard Beach–JFK Airport. Service to the Rockaways resumed on May 30, 2013.^[44][45] The Far Rockaway part of the route was served by the temporary free H shuttle that ran between Far Rockaway and Beach 90th Street via the connecting track at Hammels Wye.^[46][47][48]

As a result of a two-phase program of flood mitigation work along the Hammels Wye, between April 9 and May 18, 2018, limited rush hour A service to/from Rockaway Park was suspended.^{[lower-alpha 2]} The second phase, from July 1 to September 3, diverted all Far Rockaway-bound A trips to Rockaway Park, with Rockaway Park Shuttle trains being rerouted to the Far Rockaway branch through the southern leg of Hammels Wye.^[49]

From midday on March 29, 2020^[50][51] to April 28, 2020,^[52] due to the suspension of C train service caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, A trains to Lefferts Boulevard ran local,^[53] while A trains to the Rockaways ran express.^[54]

Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the A, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:^{[lower-alpha 3][55]}

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.^[3]

For clarity, the A's branches are shown separately in the following table. The leftmost column shows the Lefferts Boulevard service; the second column shows the Far Rockaway service; and the third column shows the Rockaway Park service.

More information Station service legend ...

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops weekdays during the day
	Station closed
	Stops rush hours only (limited service)
	Stops rush hours/weekdays in the peak direction only
Time period details
	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
↑	Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act in the indicated direction only
↓
	Elevator access to mezzanine only

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More information Lef., FR ...

Lef.	FR	RP	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections/Other Notes
Manhattan
Eighth Avenue Line
		↑[lower-alpha 4]	Inwood–207th Street			Bx12 Select Bus Service All northbound a.m. rush hour trains from Rockaway Park terminate at this station
			Dyckman Street			Some peak-direction rush hour trips to/from Brooklyn and Queens begin or end their runs at this station[lower-alpha 5]
			190th Street
			181st Street
			175th Street			George Washington Bridge Bus Station
			168th Street		C  1  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)	Some peak-direction rush hour trips to/from Brooklyn and Queens begin or end their runs at this station[lower-alpha 5]
|		|	163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue
|		|	155th Street			Bx6 Select Bus Service
			145th Street		C  B  ​D  (IND Concourse Line)
|		|	135th Street
			125th Street		​B  ​C  ​D	M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport
|		|	116th Street
|		|	Cathedral Parkway–110th Street
|		|	103rd Street
|		|	96th Street
|		|	86th Street			M86 Select Bus Service
|		|	81st Street–Museum of Natural History			M79 Select Bus Service
|		|	72nd Street
			59th Street–Columbus Circle		​B  ​C  ​D  1  ​2  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
|		|	50th Street	↓	E  (IND Queens Boulevard Line)	Station is ADA-accessible in the southbound direction only.
			42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal		​C  ​E  1  ​2  ​3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) 7  <7> ​ (IRT Flushing Line) N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line) S  (42nd Street Shuttle) at Times Square–42nd Street B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line at 42nd Street–Bryant Park, daytime only)	Port Authority Bus Terminal M34A Select Bus Service
			34th Street–Penn Station		​C  ​E	M34/M34A Select Bus Service Amtrak, LIRR, NJ Transit at Pennsylvania Station
|		|	23rd Street		E	M23 Select Bus Service
			14th Street		​C  ​E  L  (BMT Canarsie Line at Eighth Avenue)	M14A/D Select Bus Service
			West Fourth Street–Washington Square		​C  ​E  B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line)	PATH at Ninth Street
|		|	Spring Street		E
			Canal Street		​C  ​E
			Chambers Street		C  E  (at World Trade Center)[lower-alpha 6] 2  ​3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at Park Place) N  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line at Cortlandt Street)	PATH at World Trade Center
			Fulton Street		C  2  ​3  (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) 4  ​5  (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) J  ​Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line)	PATH at World Trade Center
Brooklyn
			High Street		C	NYC Ferry: East River and South Brooklyn routes (at Old Fulton Street and Furman Street)
Fulton Street Line
			Jay Street–MetroTech		C  F  <F> ​ N  R  ​W  (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
			Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets		C  G  (IND Crosstown Line)
|		|	Lafayette Avenue
|		|	Clinton–Washington Avenues
|		|	Franklin Avenue		S  (BMT Franklin Avenue Line)
			Nostrand Avenue		C	B44 Select Bus Service, LIRR Atlantic Branch at Nostrand Avenue
|		|	Kingston–Throop Avenues			B15 bus to JFK Int'l Airport
			Utica Avenue		C	B46 Select Bus Service
|		|	Ralph Avenue
|		|	Rockaway Avenue
			Broadway Junction		C  J  ​Z  (BMT Jamaica Line) L  (BMT Canarsie Line)
|		|	Liberty Avenue
|		|	Van Siclen Avenue
|		|	Shepherd Avenue
			Euclid Avenue		C	Northern terminal for the late night Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle, one evening trip from Far Rockaway, and three morning trips to Far Rockaway
			Grant Avenue
Queens
			80th Street
			88th Street
			Rockaway Boulevard			Q52/Q53 Select Bus Service
Services to Lefferts Boulevard and The Rockaways split
	—	—	104th Street
			111th Street
			Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard			Q10 bus to JFK Airport
Rockaway Line
—	↑	↑	Aqueduct Racetrack	↑		Station serves northbound trains only
			Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue
			Howard Beach–JFK Airport			AirTrain JFK
			Broad Channel		S  (Rockaway Park Shuttle)	Q52/Q53 Select Bus Service
Services to Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park split
Far Rockaway Branch
—		—	Beach 67th Street			Q52 Select Bus Service
			Beach 60th Street			Q52 Select Bus Service
			Beach 44th Street
			Beach 36th Street
			Beach 25th Street
			Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue			LIRR Far Rockaway Branch at Far Rockaway
Rockaway Park Branch (rush hour service only)
—	—		Beach 90th Street		S  (Rockaway Park Shuttle)	Q52 Select Bus Service
			Beach 98th Street		S  (Rockaway Park Shuttle)	Q53 Select Bus Service
			Beach 105th Street		S  (Rockaway Park Shuttle)	Q53 Select Bus Service
			Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street		S  (Rockaway Park Shuttle)	Q53 Select Bus Service NYC Ferry: East River and South Brooklyn routes (on Beach Channel Drive and Beach 108th Street)

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