Current routes

There are four routes that are part of the City Terminal Zone:^[1]

• New York Penn Station (NYP) – Trains that, from Jamaica, travel west along the Main Line to Penn Station in Manhattan via the East River Tunnels.
• Grand Central Madison (GCM) – Trains that travel along the Main Line to Grand Central Madison via East Side Access, which includes the lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel and a new tunnel under Park Avenue.^[2] Due to clearance restrictions in the tunnel, the C3 bilevel cars cannot access the terminal.^[2]
• Atlantic Terminal (AT) – Trains that travel along the Atlantic Branch to Brooklyn.
• Long Island City (LIC) – Trains that serve Hunterspoint Avenue and Long Island City in Queens. These trains also use the Main Line west of Jamaica, but typically skip Woodside, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens. This route is served only during weekday rush hours in the peak direction (to Long Island City in the morning, from Long Island City in the afternoon).

Former routes

The City Terminal Zone formerly included the Lower Montauk Branch from Long Island City to Jamaica until passenger service on that route was discontinued in November 2012. This line formerly included Penny Bridge, Haberman, Fresh Pond, Glendale, and Richmond Hill stations until they were closed in March 1998.^[3]

Future stations

The MTA planned a new station in Sunnyside, Queens, once East Side Access was completed.^[6][7] The MTA later proposed in their 20-year needs assessment for 2025 to 2044 that Sunnyside station serve both the LIRR and the Metro-North Railroad, with the latter providing service to Penn Station after Penn Station Access is completed.^[8]