Best and Worst Subway Route

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

In your opinion, what is or was the best or worst subway route and why

[VWM]

I think the best line is the !

Thee worst is the

[B to Brighton]

Hmm..

I like the

I think the worst is the

[peacemak3r]

I think we had a thread like this before and honestly there shouldn't really be a best or worst line. Every line serves their purpose.

 

But if you want my personal opinion, I'd say the worst is the only because I have the worst damn luck with that line. Whether they are late or whenever I am actually on the train, it feels slow on the Queens Blvd section. And when I say slow, I mean even the is running faster then us.

 

Best line? Any line that gets me anywhere on time without any problems. Statistically speaking no line has done that, but minimally speaking the and hasn't let me down much; with the occasional mishaps.

[TwoTimer]

Gets there on time...franklin shuttle

[alejr88]

Worse? How about the train? A long route from Brooklyn to Queens running local in all three boroughs it serves.

 

Best? trains are most frequent along with the . The Franklin Avenue is always on time even with 10 minute headways.

[TwoTimer]

The isn't as frequent as it could/should be (ridership often exceeds the amount of service), and its weekend service is lackluster. The is solid, and often, the shorter the line, the more on time it is. But as someone eluded to earlier, what makes a best and worse subway route?

 

Is it scenic views? (a tossup between the and , the two structures closest to the skyline with an unobstructed view, unlike bridges)

Is it amount of service? (the and win here)

Is it quality of service/ability to feel comfortable (either a seat or sufficient room to stand)? (difficult to tell with all the service cuts, but I'm sure the shuttle routes are still somewhat roomy)

Is it a sense of newness (NTT) or nostalgia (everything else)? (the newest cars run on the generally while the oldest on the and a few trains)

Does the amount of express it has matter? (the all compete here both in length of the runs and percentage of the trip it actually runs express in rush hour)

[TriboroughBridge]

Worse? How about the train? A long route from Brooklyn to Queens running local in all three boroughs it serves.

 

I agree with you on this, unfortunately, the has to be local. Reason? In Brooklyn, Bay Ridge & 4 ave people want access to downtown Brooklyn & lower Manhattan.

 

In Manhattan, I guess Broadway isnt able to have two express trains & one local.

 

In Queens, it's the only line to serve Broadway & the & have to be the express, so putting the , & on the express track & having the by itself as local, will not be good at all.

 

I'd say the worst is the only because I have the worst damn luck with that line. Whether they are late or whenever I am actually on the train, it feels slow on the Queens Blvd section. And when I say slow, I mean even the is running faster then us.

 

Yeah, I'm sorry, but you do have bad luck with the B) Whenever I take the down Queens Blvd It's usually pretty damn smooth.:tup:

 

 

The isn't as frequent as it could/should be (ridership often exceeds the amount of service), and its weekend service is lackluster.

 

Yes! thank you for someone finally agreeing with me! whenever I'm waiting for a , two or three trains come then a finally comes. I remember one time & (4)'s were coming into Atlantic Ave every 3 or 4 minutes (before the ran to Brooklyn during the day) finally after a few & (4)'s came by, a rolled in & yes, this is a common occurrence.

 

Now that the runs to Brooklyn during the day, I dont really have this problem anymore.

[TriboroughBridge]

Now for my best subway routes,

 

The , , & . These route rarely give me problems, plus the , & have awesome views on their elevated portions! :tup:

 

The worst for me is, the , , & , very often on these lines there are delays & trains run slow at parts of the Eastern Parkway line.

[SubwayGuy]

IRT: Best worst

BMT/IND: Best worst

[FlushingExpress]

My best to worst list:

 

: always been my favorite train with very frequent service, fast express runs, its elevated line offering great views of the surrounding and very diverse neighborhoods in Queens, and it being the last service to use the Redbirds, but the R62As that replaced them still allowing a railfan window on the Flushing-bound end. The one downside is that it is plagued with constant midday and weekend construction.

: short waiting time, fast express runs in Queens, many stations have interesting features, and the R160s are doing their job of providing excellent service here. Crowding is a problem along 53rd Street, though, and it gets rerouted via 6th Avenue and 63rd Street too often.

: frequent service, fast express runs in Manhattan and Brooklyn, is the only IRT line that uses more than one car type, and the IRT Jerome Avenue Line offers nice views of The Bronx and Yankee Stadium. However, it is often very crowded and I miss having the R62s here.

: short waiting time, runs fast for a local, and the IRT Pelham Line has fast express runs and decent views of The Bronx, but trains are often very crowded, which in turns causes delays, it needs to run more frequently on weekends, and I do not know why local trains need to terminate at Parkchester when the express is in service.

: short waiting time, has a route of wide variety especially at Wilson Avenue and south of Broadway Junction, and the R143s and R160As are providing great comfort for riders. However, it is jam packed all the time, goes through some scary neighborhoods, and suffers from constant weekend service disruptions for unnecessary technical upgrades.

: frequent weekday service, runs fast for a local, and the route has many unique points, including the World Trade Center site box, Broadway Bridge crossing, and Manhattan Valley Viaduct. Weekend service is low, though, its cars are very dirty, and getting around some of the Upper Manhattan stations is annoying since they either have no crossovers/crossunders or are very deep.

: very fast for a Brighton Local (even faster than the express), the late night/weekend express run on Broadway is great, and making it exclusively R160s was the best decision ever. However, trains have been running very irregularly ever since it got extended to Astoria on weekdays since they have last priority at the DeKalb Avenue, 34th Street, and Prince Street junctions.

: the BMT Sea Beach Line looks beautiful in the winter while the Astoria Line offers a fascinating view of the surrounding area and the express run along Fourth Avenue is fast with its 100% R160 fleet. On the down side, having it run local north of Canal Street causes irregularity on the Broadway Line and it gets rerouted via West End way too often.

: frequent weekday service, fast express runs in Queens, the IND Culver Line has some awesome views of Brooklyn, and the R160s have greatly improved this service's performance. However, weekend service is low and trains run irregularly due to its long route and sharing of tracks with other services.

: fast express run in Manhattan, is 100% R62s, and the IRT New Lots Line has nice views of Brooklyn. It does not run very frequently, though, has dirty cars, and the neighborhoods in Brooklyn it goes to are not very safe.

: uses the sleek and shiny R32s, making it the only service where you are guaranteed a railfan window at all times, and runs very fast for a local, even faster than its express counterpart. On the low side, frequency of service is quite low and it goes through some very dangerous neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

Franklin Avenue : has a unique route with many historical features and its R68s look better than the rest of the fleet. However, waiting time is long, trains can get crowded, and people tend to hold the car doors at both terminals.

: uses the R160As exclusively and the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line has a lot of historical features. Service is very low and slow and the weekend shuttle is annoying, though.

(J)/(Z): R160As have proved to be a huge upgrade here and the elevated portions allow amazing views of northern Brooklyn and Queens. However, the 48 rusted tin cans here really need to retire (I have to avoid them at all costs to not go insane) and skip-stop service has to run longer and in both directions. Infrequent, local-only service on midday and weekends is horrible and the short express section between Myrtle and Marcy Avenues, while fast, is near pointless.

: very irregular train intervals and slow in the Bronx and Brooklyn, has low weekend service, and is often crowded, but the views along the White Plains Road Line are magnificent and the express run in Manhattan is fast.

: low off-peak service, irregular runs, and severely overcrowded, but the express runs in the Bronx and Manhattan are great and the IRT Dyre Avenue Line is a throwback to the old NYC railroad services.

42nd Street : pretty boring to ride it since it only travels between two stops in an entirely underground route, is often crowded, and prone to people holding the doors. However, I love the promotional decorations it always gets and cannot wait to act in or film a movie scene here.

: infrequent, irregular service, the ride on the BMT West End Line is slow, and it is the only "B" Division train that has not changed its cars since 1996. The chubby R68s really kill the express runs along 4th Avenue, Concourse, and Central Park West. On the plus side, the West End Line offers great views of Brooklyn even though it needs express service and the IND Concourse Line have some interestingly-built stations.

(: Waiting time is so long, trains often do not arrive on schedule and have last priority at the DeKalb Avenue and 59th Street junctions, and the slow R68/68As ruin the Brighton Express even though it can be fast on some occasions. The only good thing about this service is that it is not very crowded.

: very prone to delays, gaps, and bunching is service due to its long route, waiting time for each branch in Queens is horrendous, weekend service is poor, and the dull, dark, and dirty R46s spoil the express runs in Manhattan and Brooklyn. On the bright side, the IND Rockaway Line has spectacular views of Jamaica Bay and the peninsula.

Rockaway Park : very low scheduled frequency and overcrowded during the summer, but the route offers great views of the Atlantic Ocean and Rockaways.

: has short-length trains that make people run on the platforms, infrequent service, and many of its stations look like ghost towns and are in bad shape. The lone good thing about it is the Gowanus El crossing. I do not know why its riders complain about poor service when this train is nearly pointless.

: Has always been my least favorite train. The route is so slow and boring since it is the system's longest local and has no outdoor portions except for a small section in Bay Ridge, trains do not run frequently and are prone to irregularity, and the overweight R46s are not helping much. I miss the few sets of R32s that used to run here.

[dman1455]

The Best Senic route would have to be the

The worst route in terms of speed would have to be the

[gtNovaBusRTS9369]

Best:

: Runs fast on 8th Av between 59th st-Columbus Circle to 125th st. Also some good scenery in Far Rockaway.

: Besides the fact that it's my home line, it's a good route for being an Queens Blvd Express & it's convient for my commute.

: Runs Siemens R160's & faster going to Coney Island.

 

Worst:

: Yeah, also the worst. Sometimes it's infrequent & can be extremely packed.

: Similar to the it's just that it also at times it isn't very frequent.

: Extremely long & at times slows down the through tunnels.

: Used to like this route though I'm actually kinda neutral on this one. Compared to the & trains it's just far behind. Once again it too is very infrequent at times.

[knh39]

My best to worst list:

=

: has short-length trains that make people run on the platforms, infrequent service, and many of its stations look like ghost towns and are in bad shape. The lone good thing about it is the Gowanus El crossing. I do not know why its riders complain about poor service when this train is nearly pointless.

=

 

I wanna weigh in on this. Yeah, the trains are short. But service really isn't as infrequent as people think. Plus its very consistent. My train picks me up at the same time every morning (7:53) and leaves Court Square at the same time on the way home. Some of the stations are rough, but the line has grown exponentially in the past few years in terms of the people living in the areas that it serves. Stations are rarely empty, even at night. And I absolutely disagree that its useless. The ability to go from queens to brooklyn without having to enter manhattan is lovely(and fast). Plus it has convenient transfers to get nearly anywhere you need to go.

 

I think the worst is the by far. Between the overcrowding and how slow the trains go. My favorite is the . Gets me home super fast!

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

The best:

The Worst: Just Kidding, the

[DanTheTransitMan]

Best IRT: Nice speedy ride to flushing, clean, swell view! Rating: 4/5

Worst IRT: Makes me want to punch a kitten 1/5

 

Best IND: Hauls some serious ass on the queen boulevard line, clean cars, only downside (a minor one at that) no elevated portion on the line. 5/5

Worst IND: Again makes me want to punch a kitten. I was late 2 times to my school because the train took 15 minutes to show up. It passes through some questionable neighborhoods. 3/5 The only reason why I gave the C such a high rating is because of the R32s that run on that line.

 

Best BMT: Skip Stop/ Express. Fast, Comes on time. The only downside is that is passes through a lot of bad neighborhoods. 4/5

Worst IND: Look at the map and you will see why this line is terrible. 0/5

[Caelestor]

As a whole, the IND is terrible; the lack of separating the local and express routes reduces effective capacity and creates huge service disruptions on the entire system. In addition, the IND express routes, namely those on 8th Ave, are slow because there the spacing of the express stops is extremely poor. The G was built pretty badly, but that's not really the fault of the planners, as demand is highly oriented for Manhattan.

 

I will concede, however, that the 6th Ave, CPW, Concourse, Culver, Queens Blvd, and even the Fulton lines are very useful today, mainly because they pass through areas with high demand and can offer a backup route if a nearby line gets knocked out.

 

Regarding the best routes, the IRT has everyone beat because it was the original subway, and thus established the corridors that have continued to grow ridership over time as high-density houses are built.

[JubaionBx12+SBS]

I see some posts that talk about the as being infrequent. That is not the case. The problem with the is reliability. Most of the B division lines don't have trains scheduled 5 mins apart during the peak hours. The only way one can come to the conclusion that the is infrequent is by comparing it to the other numbered lines which all have to run at high frequency because of high demand. The also happens to have high demand but that can be saved for another discussion

 

Now to the JW72093 route awards:

Best for an Urban Feel and High frequencies and riders are lucky to get a seat during rush hour. That explains this pick.

 

Best for a relaxing ride Very quiet and lots of seats available most of the time.

 

Best to people watch What aren't you going to see on a line with lots of Hipsters? Tell me

 

Best route for exploration Stops at Yankee Stadium, Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Herald Sq, near NYU and at Coney Island. Soon to be Barclay's Arena. Let's also mention that the Bryant Park and Herald Sq stops are a short walk away from other landmarks.

 

Best route for diversity Enough said here

 

Best for dependability

[KTrain]

The best: gotta be the (If it includes disused lines I'd say the )

The worst: the is such a pathetic excuse for a line. Vandalized R44s, old stations, bad maintenance makes it a nightmare. I'd rather take a bus/taxi than ride the .

[TheNewYorkElevated]

My simple opinion

 

The Best  

Who's Okay

    

The Worst

  

[Fresh Pond]

Necroposting much?