3 (New York City Subway service)

Service history

Early history

On November 23, 1904, the IRT Lenox Avenue Line opened between 96th Street and 145th Street. Service ran between 145th Street and City Hall, making all stops.

On July 1, 1918, the entire IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line was completed. Lenox Avenue service from 145th Street was rerouted south of 42nd Street from the IRT Lexington Avenue Line to this new line, making all stops to South Ferry.

As of 1934, service operated between 145th Street and South Ferry except late nights, when service operated between 145th Street and 96th Street, making local stops.

The IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsign curtains with numbered designations for each service. The first such fleet, the R12, was put into service in 1948. The Seventh Avenue–Lenox route became known as the 3.

Under the New York City Transit Authority

On January 3, 1955, late night two-car shuttle service between 145th Street and 96th Street, between 12:12 and 6:57 a.m. was discontinued due to low ridership. As a result, 145th Street was closed overnight. In addition, some 3 trains started running express in Manhattan during rush hours. These trains were extended to Flatbush Avenue; a few layups and put-ins ran to New Lots Avenue. However, from December 20, 1957, 3 trains were rerouted to New Lots Avenue during rush hours. On February 6, 1959, all trains except late nights made express stops in Manhattan as part of the "West Side Improvement" and ran to Flatbush Avenue.

Starting April 8, 1960, 3 trains were rerouted from Flatbush Avenue to New Lots Avenue, and weekday evening service between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. was cut to a shuttle between 145th Street and 135th Street. Before the change, 3 trains had run between 145th Street and Flatbush Avenue between about 5:30 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and from about 7:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. on Sundays. This service had been supplemented by additional service to and from New Lots Avenue.

However, on April 18, 1965, 3 service started to run to Flatbush Avenue again. On October 17, 1965, weekend evening service was also cut to a shuttle between 145th Street and 135th Street.

On May 13, 1968, trains were extended to the newly completed 148th Street–Lenox Terminal. Later that year, on November 12, late night shuttle service was implemented between 148th Street and 135th Street. On May 23, 1976, the current practice of starting Sunday service late (9 or 10 a.m.) began.

On July 10, 1983, the and 3 trains swapped terminals in Brooklyn, with 2 trains terminating at Flatbush Avenue and 3 trains terminating at New Lots Avenue. These changes were made to reduce non-revenue subway car mileage, to provide a dedicated fleet for each service, and to provide an easily accessible inspection yard for each service. The change allowed the 2 to be dedicated to 239th Street Yard and allowed the 3 to be assigned to Livonia Yard. With the rerouting of 3 trains, train lengths along the New Lots Line were reduced from 10 cars to 9 cars, within acceptable crowding levels, and train lengths along the Nostrand Avenue Line were increased from 9 to 10 cars, reducing crowding.

Beginning on August 5, 1990, late-night shuttles between 148th Street and 135th Street were discontinued and replaced by shuttle buses. On September 4, 1994, late-night shuttles between 148th Street and 135th Street were resumed, but were discontinued again on September 10, 1995. This was a cost-saving measure due to low ridership.

In January 1991, a reduction of service along the Eastern Parkway corridor to remove excess capacity was proposed. Weekend daytime 3 service would be rerouted to originate and terminate at South Ferry in Manhattan instead of New Lots Avenue in Brooklyn. Service between Chambers Street and Franklin Avenue would be provided by trains; service between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue would be provided by extended trains. This service change would have been implemented in July 1991, pending approval from the MTA board.

From March 2 to October 12, 1998, the IRT Lenox Avenue Line was rehabilitated. Most 3 service was rerouted to 137th Street–City College. From October 4, 1999, to August 3, 2001, Limited AM rush hour 3 trains originated at 137th Street – City College instead of 148th Street; these trains ran local to 96th Street before switching to the express track. From August 6, 2001, to April 25, 2003, limited AM rush hour 3 trains originated at East 180th Street in the Bronx instead of 148th Street.

Recent history

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, 3 service was initially split in two sections, with the northern section operating between 148th and 135th Streets and the southern section operating between Utica Avenue and New Lots Avenue, but service in Brooklyn was replaced by 4 trains on the evening of September 12, leaving the 3 to operate only as a shuttle between 148th and 135th Streets. On September 17, service was restored along the full route and made all stops in Manhattan, with trains skipping Franklin Street, Chambers Street and Park Place; Franklin Street reopened on September 18. On September 19, service was cut back from New Lots Avenue to 14th Street in Manhattan; 3 trains made express stops between 96th and 14th Streets, while the 1 replaced the 3 in Brooklyn. Also on this date, 3 trains began to permanently use consists of 10-car trains as a result of equipment sharing between Livonia Yard (the maintenance facility in Brooklyn where subway cars assigned to the 3 are based from) and 240th Street Yard (the maintenance facility in the Bronx where subway cars assigned to the 1 are based from). Normal 3 service was restored on September 15, 2002.

On July 27, 2008, late night 3 service was restored, operating express between 148th Street and Times Square–42nd Street. In addition, late morning weekday service was increased from running every 6 to 8 minutes to running every 5 to 7 minutes to reduce crowding on the 2. These increases were made as part of an $8.9 million package of systemwide service enhancements.

The Clark Street Tube underwent planned repairs on weekends from June 17, 2017, to June 24, 2018, due to Hurricane Sandy-related damage. The 3 operated only in Manhattan between Harlem-148th Street and 14th Street with trains providing service to New Lots Avenue in Brooklyn.

On November 17, 2019, the MTA made adjustments to weekday evening 3, 4, and 5 service in order to accommodate planned subway work. Late night 3 service to Times Square started an hour earlier, at 10:30 p.m. instead of 11:30 p.m.; to replace 3 service, 4 service was extended to New Lots Avenue. This change, which was approved by the MTA Board on June 27, 2019, was expected to save the agency $900,000 annually.

In January 2025, overnight 3 service was quietly extended from Times Square–42nd Street to 34th Street–Penn Station, although a few northbound trips continued to enter service at Times Square. One month later, some weekday early morning and late evening trips were rerouted to and from 137th Street–City College as a result of accessibility improvements taking place at 148th Street. Some trips also began ending at 135th Street during the evening. Effective June 8, 2025, 3 service to 137th Street was discontinued.

In May 2025, as part of the 2025–2029 Capital Program, the MTA proposed that the 3 train be rerouted from New Lots Avenue to Flatbush Avenue at its southern end, as it did prior to 1983. A new 8 service, operating along the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, would take over the southernmost portion of the 3's route from Franklin Avenue to New Lots Avenue. The proposal, first suggested in 2023 as part of the MTA's 20-year needs assessment, would remove a bottleneck at the Rogers Avenue Junction south of Franklin Avenue, where 5 express and 3 local trains must cross over each other's tracks.

Route

Signage history

File:R12 IRT 3.gif|Pre-1967 bullet used on the R12s to R36s File:3 (1967-1979 New York City Subway bullet).svg|1967–1979 bullet File:NYCS-bull-trans-3.svg|Bullet used since 1979

Service pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the 3, 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.

References

References

1. {{NYCS const. timetable. 3
2. "Mta.info | Line Colors".
3. "NYCT Line by Line History".
4. Brown, Nicole. (May 17, 2019). "How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious".
5. (April 1960). "A Summary of Services on the IRT Division, NYCTA". Electric Railroaders' Association.
6. (December 18, 1954). "Subway Cut Is Explained By Official". New York Amsterdam News.
7. (April 1960). "A Summary of Services on the IRT Division, NYCTA". Electric Railroaders' Association.
8. (April 1960). "IRT Changes in Service – April 8, 1960". Electric Railroaders' Association.
9. (May 14, 1968). "IRT Passengers Get New 148th St. Station". The New York Times.
10. (1968). "Another Transit Improvement... Line 3 (7 Ave. Lenox Shuttle) All Night Service". New York City Transit Authority.
11. (July 1983). "New IRT Schedules – Increased Service to Flatbush Avenue". New York Division Bulletin.
12. (February 26, 1983). "Notice of Public Hearing". New York Amsterdam News.
13. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/nyregion/neighborhood-report-new-york-up-close-coming-transit-reductions-what-they-mean.html Coming Transit Reductions: What They Mean for You] {{Webarchive. link. (May 18, 2020 ," ''The New York Times'', August 20, 1995, p. CY10)
14. Bleyer, Jennifer. (July 17, 2005). "In a City That Never Sleeps, Two Stations That Doze". The New York Times.
15. (January 4, 1991). "1991 Service Capacity Plan". New York City Transit Authority.
16. Christian, Nichole M.. (March 3, 1998). "Subway Line Repairs Start With Confusion". The New York Times.
17. (October 19, 2002). "About NYC Transit – History".
18. (August 2001). "Increased Rush Hour IRT Service". Electric Railroaders' Association, Incorporated.
19. (June 2003). "New IRT Schedules". Electric Railroaders' Association, Incorporated.
20. (October 2001). "World Trade Center Destroyed". Electric Railroaders' Association.
21. Chiasson, George. (November 2001). "Redbird Update". The Bulletin, New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association.
22. (October 2002). "Test Trains in Lower Manhattan". Electric Railroaders' Association.
23. (July 24, 2008). "Service Enhancements on 3 Line". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
24. Neuman, William. (June 19, 2008). "Subway Service Increase to Be Less Than Hoped". The New York Times.
25. (December 12, 2016). "Transit & Bus Committee Meeting December 2016". [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]].
26. (March 13, 2018). "Clark St Tunnel Reconstruction Weekend Service Changes". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
27. (June 24, 2019). "Transit and Bus Committee Meeting June 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
28. (November 17, 2019). "5 Subway Timetable Effective November 17, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
29. (January 24, 2025). "Late Night Subway Map". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
30. (February 10, 2025). "MTA 3 subway timetable". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
31. (June 8, 2025). "MTA 3 subway timetable". Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
32. (June 4, 2025). "MTA plans to speed up Brooklyn subway with Nostrand Junction fix".
33. (June 3, 2025). "MTA To Finally Untangle Notorious Brooklyn Subway Pinch Point".
34. {{NYCS const. serviceguide
35. "New York City Subway Severe Winter Weather". MTA.
36. (September 21, 2023). "MTA Announces New Station Elevator Paid in Full by Macy's".
37. "New York City Subway Severe Winter Weather". MTA.