W Train · New York

The weekday local on the Astoria and Broadway Lines, running from Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard in Queens through the 60th Street tunnel and down Broadway in Manhattan to Whitehall Street-South Ferry, stopping at every station. It runs only on weekdays.

At a glance

Stations: 23
From: Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard
To: Whitehall Street-South Ferry
Interchanges: 23
Difficulty: Lv 4 of 7
Keystrokes: ~381

W Train runs from Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard to Whitehall Street-South Ferry, 23 stops in the order you type them. Measured in straight lines between the station coordinates, the run is about 15.4 km, an average of 700 m between stops. The longest gap is Queensboro Plaza to 59th Street, about 2.6 km, and the shortest is Cortlandt Street to Rector Street, about 370 m. The real track is a little longer than these straight lines.

Typing every station name once takes about 381 keystrokes, which is difficulty level 4 of 7 among New York's lines. The level only compares lines within one city, so use the keystroke count to compare across cities. At the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard end the game shows Astoria Park, and at the Whitehall Street-South Ferry end, Battery Maritime Building.

You can change to 15 other lines: N Train, 7 Train, 4 Train, 5 Train, 6 Train, R Train, Q Train, 1 Train, 2 Train, 3 Train, B Train, D Train, F Train, M Train, L Train. The busiest interchange is Times Square-42nd Street, where 7 other lines meet this one. The interchange stations are Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria Boulevard, 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue, 39th Avenue, Queensboro Plaza, 59th Street, and 15 more.

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Along the way

The game shows a nearby place at each station. Some of the ones on W Train:

Astoria Park at Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard. Astoria Park stretches along the East River shoreline where the swirling Hell Gate strait divides Queens from Randalls Island, its lawns and running track framed by the arching steel spans of the Hell Gate and Robert F. Kennedy Bridges overhead. First laid out in 1913, the park's WPA-era pool opened in 1936 and hosted U.S. Olympic swimming trials three times. Locals still gather along its riverside paths at sunset to watch trains rumble across the bridge in the distance.Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY 4.0
Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden at Astoria Boulevard. Opened in 1910 by the Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society, this Astoria hall and its adjoining outdoor beer garden are widely regarded as the oldest continuously operating beer garden in New York City. Long tables under shade trees fill the open-air courtyard, a layout modeled on Central European beer gardens that has drawn generations of Czech and Slovak New Yorkers along with newer arrivals to the neighborhood. Live music and Czech festivals such as Oktoberfest are still held there today.Photo: MrShah2012 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Socrates Sculpture Park at Broadway. Founded in 1986 by sculptor Mark di Suvero and local volunteers on the site of an abandoned riverside landfill, Socrates Sculpture Park is an open-air museum where artists build and exhibit large-scale works in full public view. The park sits directly on the East River waterfront one block from the Noguchi Museum, with wide views across to the Manhattan skyline. Installations rotate regularly, so the park's centerpiece artworks change from one visit to the next.Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0
Kaufman Astoria Studios at 39th Avenue. The columned front of Kaufman Astoria Studios, formerly Paramount Studios, which fills an entire block on 35th Avenue. It is a few blocks northeast of the station.Photo: MrShah2012 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bloomingdale's Flagship Store at 59th Street. Bloomingdale's flagship department store occupies a full block of Lexington Avenue right above the 59th Street subway station. Opened in 1886, the store became famous for its 'Big Brown Bag' shopping bags and its elaborate seasonal window displays. It remains one of Manhattan's most recognizable retail landmarks and a major tourist draw around the winter holidays.Photo: Coolcaesar · CC BY-SA 3.0
Russian Tea Room at 57th Street-7th Avenue. Opened in 1927 by former dancers of the Russian Imperial Ballet, the Russian Tea Room sits right next to Carnegie Hall on West 57th Street and became a favorite haunt of musicians, actors, and studio executives. Its red-and-gold dining room and samovar-lined bar have made it a Manhattan institution for a century of pre- and post-concert dinners.Photo: Seasider53 · CC BY 4.0
Times Square at Times Square-42nd Street. Times Square—the 'Crossroads of the World'—is a dazzling commercial intersection in Midtown Manhattan famous for its towering LED billboards, Broadway theater district, and the iconic New Year's Eve ball drop. Over 50 million visitors a year make it one of the most visited tourist attractions on Earth.Photo: Terabass · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marble Collegiate Church at 28th Street. Marble Collegiate Church stands at Fifth Avenue and 29th Street, a short walk from 28th Street station, and traces its congregation back to the Dutch Reformed church founded in New Amsterdam in 1628. The current marble-clad Gothic Revival building was completed in 1854, giving the church its name. It became internationally known in the mid-20th century as the pulpit of Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking. The church remains an active congregation in the NoMad neighborhood.Photo: Kidfly182 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Union Square at 14th Street-Union Square. A landmark public square and park in lower Manhattan, home to a famous Greenmarket and a long history of rallies and demonstrations.Photo: Another Believer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fanelli Cafe at Prince Street. Operating since 1922 (in a building that has housed a bar since the 1840s), Fanelli Cafe is one of the oldest continuously run restaurants in New York City. Its red neon sign and cast-iron facade at the corner of Prince and Mercer Streets have become a fixture of the SoHo streetscape near the Prince Street station.Photo: Jess Hawsor · CC BY-SA 4.0
New York City Hall at City Hall. Completed in 1812, New York City Hall is the oldest city hall in the United States still used for its original government function, housing the offices of the mayor and the City Council chambers. Its French Renaissance and Federal-style facade overlooks City Hall Park directly above the City Hall station.Photo: Aude · CC BY-SA 2.5
Federal Hall at Rector Street. The current Greek Revival building, completed in 1842 as a U.S. Custom House, stands on the site where George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. President in 1789. Now a National Memorial run by the National Park Service, it faces the New York Stock Exchange a short walk from the Rector Street station.Photo: Jim.henderson · CC BY 4.0