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. The A was extended to
Jay Street–Borough Hall when the
Cranberry Street Tunnel to
Brooklyn opened on February 1, 1933, and to
Bergen Street, when the extension opened on March 20. On July 1, the A began running express at all times, stopping at 155th Street and 163rd Street during late nights. On April 9, 1936, the
IND Fulton Street Line was opened to
Rockaway Avenue. 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. On December 30, 1946, and November 28, 1948, the line was extended to Broadway–East New York (now
Broadway Junction) and
Euclid Avenue, respectively.
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. 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. Two months later, on June 28, 1956, the former
Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch, having been rebuilt to subway specifications, began service to
Rockaway Park and
Wavecrest (Beach 25th Street). 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. 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. 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 E train replaced the A 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. 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.
Simplifying service patterns -bound A shuttle train of
R46s at
80th Street. 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. 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. 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. On August 30, 1976, the CC became the Fulton Street Local during rush hours, replacing E service. On August 27, 1977, the A began making local stops in Manhattan during late nights, when the AA was not running. 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. On September 30, 1990, A trains began operating local between 145th Street and 168th Street during weekday evenings. In January 1991, a reduction of service along the Central Park West corridor to remove excess capacity was proposed. Initially, A service would operate local between
168th Street and
Euclid Avenue during weekday rush hours and middays, with weekday evening and weekend daytime service extended beyond 168th Street to operate to and from
Inwood–207th Street, and daily late night service extended beyond Euclid Avenue to operate to and from
Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue in Queens. Express service between 168th Street and
59th Street–Columbus Circle would be replaced by and rerouted trains, the latter of which would serve 207th Street during weekday rush hours and middays; express service below
34th Street–Penn Station in Manhattan and in Brooklyn would have been replaced by an expanded service. A new shuttle would serve Lefferts Boulevard during late nights. The service change was later amended to retain the A as an express service in place of the altered service pattern and would be re-designated as an orange A, as it would be rerouted via the
Sixth Avenue Line and its southern terminal moved to
Brighton Beach, operating weekday rush hours and middays only. This service change would have been implemented in October 1991, pending approval from the MTA board. 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. The changes took effect on October 25, 1992, with modification: Overnight shuttle service to Lefferts Boulevard would terminate at Euclid Avenue, not Rockaway Boulevard. In addition, the Rockaway Park trips would end at
Dyckman Street during the morning rush hour and begin at 59th Street–Columbus Circle during the evening rush hour. Later on, the Rockaway Park trips were extended from 59th Street to Dyckman Street and 207th Street. 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 being extended from 145th Street to 168th Street to cover local stops. 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 1, 1999, the A became the express on the Fulton Street Line every day during daytime hours, 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.
21st century -bound
R179 A train arriving at
Broad Channel -led nostalgia train celebrates the return of service to Far Rockaway in May 2013, after Hurricane Sandy damage was repaired. service was suspended from January 29 to February 14, 2000 due to switch replacement work north of the
World Trade Center station, preventing it from being used as a terminal for trains. As a result, A trains made all stops between 168th and 145th Streets during weekday daytime hours, and made all stops between 145th and 59th Streets during weekday evening hours. After the
September 11, 2001 attacks, A service was rerouted between West Fourth and Jay Streets, making stops and operating via the
Rutgers Street Tunnel. On September 17, normal A service was restored, but trains bypassed Chambers Street until October 5. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. From midday on March 29, 2020 to April 28, 2020, due to the suspension of C train service caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, A trains to Lefferts Boulevard ran local, while A trains to the Rockaways ran express. As part of a program to repair the South Channel Bridge, service between Howard Beach and the peninsula was suspended for 17 weeks starting on January 17, 2025, and the Rockaway branches were instead served by a rerouted
Rockaway Park Shuttle. Regular service resumed on May 19, 2025. == Route ==