How to check NYC subway delays today, line by line
The MTA's live alerts feed lists every subway delay, suspension and skipped stop by line. This guide explains how to read it before you ride.
Subway service in New York City can change within the hour. A train taken out of service for a mechanical problem, track maintenance or a planned reroute can add time to a trip or send riders to a different platform. The quickest way to see what is happening on each line is the MTA’s live service alerts feed, which lists every active alert by route.
A check of that feed at 2:54 a.m. on Sept. 19, 2026, showed 16 active alerts covering 12 routes. Only two were delay alerts. The rest were planned work, skipped stops, station notices and boarding changes. Many riders miss that difference, and it matters when planning a trip.
Where to check NYC subway delays today
The MTA publishes its subway service alerts as a live feed. How2NewYork shows that same feed on its NYC transit page, so current delays, suspensions and skipped stops are all on one page, sorted by line.
The feed also appears on every How2NewYork neighborhood page. Checking a home or work neighborhood shows current subway conditions next to the rest of the area information.
Check right before leaving, not the night before. Some delays come from things that happen in real time, such as a train pulled from service. An alert that was not there an hour ago can be there now.
What the subway alert labels mean
Each alert in the feed has a type. The label tells you whether trains are slow, missing or running a different way.
- Delays: trains are running, but slower than normal.
- Planned – Part Suspended: no service on part of a line or at certain stations.
- Planned – Suspended: another service replaces a whole line for the duration of the work.
- Planned – Stops Skipped: trains run but pass some stations, sometimes running express.
- Station Notice: changes to entrances or exits at a station.
- Boarding Change: trains board from a different platform than usual.
How to read a subway delay alert
A delay alert names the line, the direction and usually the cause. At 2:54 a.m. on Sept. 19, downtown N and Q trains were delayed after a train with a mechanical problem was taken out of service near 49 St. At the same time, uptown E trains were delayed by planned track maintenance in Queens.
Always read the direction. The E alert covered uptown trains only, and the N and Q alert covered downtown trains only. The feed uses several kinds of direction words: uptown and downtown, Manhattan-bound, and terminal names such as Coney Island-bound, Church Av-bound, Flushing-bound and Woodlawn-bound. An alert for one direction says nothing about the other.
Planned suspensions and reroutes
Planned work takes up most of the feed. These alerts matter most for longer trips, because they can remove a line from a whole stretch of the city.
At the Sept. 19 check, there was no D service between 34 St-Herald Sq in Manhattan and Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr in Brooklyn. There was no 6 between Hunts Point Av and 125 St, and no 1 at Van Cortlandt Park-242 St in the Bronx. In Queens, the E did not serve Jamaica-Van Wyck, Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport or Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer.
Some suspensions come with a replacement. In the Rockaways, there was no A between Broad Channel and Far Rockaway. Instead, the A was rerouted to Rockaway Park, taking the place of the H Rockaway Park Shuttle, and riders could use free shuttle buses. When an alert mentions shuttle buses or a rerouted line, it is showing the way around the gap.
Skipped stops and express runs
A skipped-stop alert means the train still runs but does not stop at your station. That can be easy to miss on a platform, so check it before boarding.
Examples from the Sept. 19 feed:
- Coney Island-bound F trains ran express from Smith-9 Sts to Kings Hwy in Brooklyn.
- Church Av-bound G trains skipped 4 Av-9 St, 15 St-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Pkwy.
- Manhattan-bound local E and F trains in Queens skipped 65 St, Northern Blvd, 46 St, Steinway St and 36 St.
- Downtown A local trains in Manhattan skipped 116 St through 72 St, including 96 St and 86 St.
- Flushing-bound 7 trains skipped 52 St and 69 St, and Woodlawn-bound 4 trains skipped Burnside Av.
If your stop is skipped in one direction, check whether trains in the other direction still stop there. Then plan to ride past your stop and double back, or use another line.
Station notices and platform changes
Some alerts do not change train service at all. They change how you get into the station or which platform you wait on.
On Sept. 19, riders at the 5 Av/53 St E and F station could enter only at 5 Av, and the Madison Av entrance was exit only. On the 7, all trains at Hunters Point Av and Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av boarded from the Flushing-bound platform. At Woodside-61 St, all trains boarded from the Manhattan-bound platform.
These changes can cost a few minutes when you arrive at the wrong entrance or platform. Read the alert and follow the station signs.
A quick check before any subway trip
A one-minute routine covers most surprises:
- Open the transit page and find every line on your route, including transfers.
- Check the direction in each alert, not only the line.
- Look for planned suspensions near both ends of the trip.
- Check for skipped stops at your boarding and exit stations.
- Read any station notice or boarding change for the stations you use.
If a line is out, a nearby line often gets you close. The How2NewYork guide to which subway lines serve each NYC neighborhood lists the options borough by borough.
Sources
Every figure above comes from these official sources, checked on the day this was written.
Quick answers
Where can I see NYC subway delays right now?
The MTA's live service alerts feed lists every active delay, suspension and skipped stop by line. How2NewYork shows the same feed on its NYC transit page and on every neighborhood page.
What is the difference between a delay and planned work?
A delay alert means trains are running but slower than normal, often because of an incident such as a train removed from service. Planned work alerts cover scheduled suspensions, reroutes and skipped stops.
What does Stops Skipped mean in a subway alert?
Trains still run but pass certain stations in the direction named in the alert. Sometimes they run express between two stops. Check whether trains in the other direction still stop at your station.
What is a Boarding Change alert?
It means trains at a station board from a different platform than usual. On Sept. 19, 2026, for example, all 7 trains at Hunters Point Av and Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av boarded from the Flushing-bound platform.
