The New York City Subway system has lettered or numbered route designations.

The , , , , , , and trains are fully local, making all stops. The , , , , , , , , , and trains have portions of express and local service. The train normally operates local, but during rush hours it is joined by the train in the peak direction. Both run local, express or skip-stop on different parts of their route. The and are fully local, but during rush hours, express variants of the routes, designated by diamond-shaped route markers, are operated alongside the locals in the peak direction. The has portions of express and local service, but during rush hours, an express variant of the route, designated by a diamond-shaped route marker, is operated alongside the local in Brooklyn in the peak direction. The letter is used for three shuttle services: the 42nd Street Shuttle, Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and Rockaway Park Shuttle.

The subway normally operates 24 hours a day with five different service patterns: rush-hour, midday, evening, weekend and late-night. Each service has a table in its article to show what tracks are used and when. This article lists all the current services, along with their lines and terminals and a brief description; see Unused New York City Subway service labels for unused and defunct services.

In the New York City Subway nomenclature, numbered or lettered "services" use different segments of physical trackage, or "lines". The services that run on certain lines change depending on the time of day.

Time periods

The New York City Subway is one of the few subways worldwide operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The schedule is divided into different periods, with each containing different operation patterns and train intervals.

The MTA defines time periods as follows; these are used in articles (sometimes abbreviated by numbers in superscript or the symbol indicated): (1) rush hours – 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday–Friday (1a) rush hours in the peak direction (toward Manhattan in the morning, away from Manhattan in the afternoon) (2) middays – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (2a) middays in the peak direction (2b) middays in the non-peak direction (3) evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday–Friday (3a) early evenings – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (3b) evenings in the peak direction (3c) early evenings in the peak direction – 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (4) weekends – 6:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Saturday and Sunday (weekends during the day) (5) late nights – 12:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., every day (5a) weekday late nights (5b) weekend late nights

Other symbols are derivatives and are defined based on the rules above:

– 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 24 hours a day, except rush hours in the peak direction 24 hours a day, except weekdays in the peak direction daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (4) above (all times except late nights) daytime hours only, except rush hours in the peak direction daily – criteria (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5b) above (all times except weekday late nights) weekdays – criteria (1), (2), and (3) above (weekdays during the day) weekdays and weekday nights – criteria (1), (2), (3), and (5a) above nights and weekends – criteria (4) and (5) above weekends and weekend nights – criteria (4) and (5b) above limited service during rush hours – criterion (1) above, but only for selected trains limited service during rush hours in the peak direction service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction – opposite of criteria (1) above limited service during rush hours in the reverse peak direction

Service listing Lines with colors next to them are the primary trunk line of the corresponding service; they determine the color of the service bullets and diamonds, except shuttles, which are dark gray.

Current services Route Line(s) North terminal South terminal Service pattern(s) A Division (IRT) Broadway–Seventh Avenue Local  IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line Operates 24 hours a day.Makes all stops along the full route. Seventh Avenue Express IRT White Plains Road LineIRT Lenox Avenue Line IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue LineIRT Eastern Parkway LineIRT Nostrand Avenue Line (some rush hour trips) Operates 24 hours a day.Makes express stops in Manhattan (between 96th and Chambers Streets) and all stops in the Bronx and Brooklyn during daytime hours;Makes all stops along the full route during overnight hours. Seventh Avenue Express IRT Lenox Avenue Line IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue LineIRT Eastern Parkway LineIRT New Lots Line 34th Street–Penn Station (late nights) Operates 24 hours a day.Operates along the full route during daytime hours; makes express stops in Manhattan (between 96th and Chambers Streets) and all stops in Brooklyn.Short turns at 34th Street-Penn Station during overnight hours and does not operate to or from New Lots Avenue. Lexington Avenue Express IRT Jerome Avenue Line IRT Lexington Avenue LineIRT Eastern Parkway LineIRT New Lots Line (some rush hour trips and late nights) Operates 24 hours a day.Makes express stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn and all stops in the Bronx during daytime hours (skips 138th Street during rush hours in the peak direction;Extended beyond Utica Avenue to and from New Lots Avenue and makes all stops during overnight hours (skips Hoyt Street in Brooklyn). Lexington Avenue Express IRT Dyre Avenue LineIRT White Plains Road LineIRT Jerome Avenue Line IRT Lexington Avenue LineIRT Eastern Parkway LineIRT Nostrand Avenue Line (some rush hour trips) Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (weekdays until 8:45 PM)Bowling Green (weekday evenings and all day weekends)East 180th Street (late nights) Operates 24 hours a day.Operates along the full route (between Dyre Avenue and Flatbush Avenue) during weekday rush hours, middays and early evenings; Makes express stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn (between Borough Hall and Franklin Avenue and all stops in the Bronx (makes express stops in the Bronx between East 180th Street and Third Avenue–149th Street during rush hours in the peak direction;Additional service operates to and from Nereid Avenue during rush hours in the peak direction instead of Dyre Avenue.Short turns at Bowling Green during weekday evenings and all day on weekends and does not operate to or from Flatbush Avenue;Operates as a shuttle between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street during overnight hours. Lexington Avenue Local IRT Pelham Line IRT Lexington Avenue Line (weekday rush hours, middays and evenings) Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall Operates 24 hours a day.Makes all stops along the full route; When the <6> is operating, 6 Local trains short turn at Parkchester in the Bronx during weekday rush hours, middays and evenings; peak direction service does not operate to or from Pelham Bay Park. Pelham Bay Park Express IRT Pelham Line IRT Lexington Avenue Line Operates weekday rush hours and middays in the peak direction only.Operates along the full route and makes express stops in the Bronx (between Parkchester and Third Avenue–138th Street and all stops in the Bronx. Flushing Local  IRT Flushing Line Operates 24 hours a day.Makes all stops along the full route. Flushing Express  IRT Flushing Line Operates weekday rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction only.Makes express stops in Queens between Main Street and 74th Street–Broadway and all stops in Manhattan. 42nd Street Shuttle IRT 42nd Street Shuttle Operates at all times except overnights. B Division (IND/BMT) Eighth Avenue Express  IND Eighth Avenue LineIND Fulton Street LineIND Rockaway Line (late night Lefferts Boulevard Shuttle) or (some peak direction rush hour trips) Operates at all times, normally express between 168th Street and Euclid Avenue and local elsewhere.