Lexington Avenue Local Pelham Bay Park Express
Pelham Bay Park-bound 6local train ofR62As atBrooklyn Bridge-City Hall
Pelham Bay Park-bound 6express train of R62As passing throughElder Avenue
Northern end	Pelham Bay Park (all times) Parkchester (weekdays, peak direction)
Southern end	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Stations	38 (local service) 29 (express service)
Rolling stock	R62A[1][2] (Rolling stock assignments subject to change)
Depot	Westchester Yard
Started service	October 27, 1904; 121 years ago (1904-10-27)
Route map Legend  6   <6>  Pelham Bay Park Buhre Avenue Middletown Road Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue Zerega Avenue Castle Hill Avenue  6  (rush hours) Parkchester St. Lawrence Avenue Morrison Avenue–Soundview Elder Avenue Whitlock Avenue Hunts Point Avenue Longwood Avenue East 149th Street East 143rd Street–St. Mary's Street Cypress Avenue Brook Avenue Third Avenue–138th Street ​the Bronx viaJerome Avenue The Bronx Manhattan 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street northbound local only 77th Street 68th Street–Hunter College 59th Street 51st Street Grand Central–42nd Street 33rd Street 28th Street southbound only 23rd Street–Baruch College 18th Street 14th Street–Union Square Astor Place Bleecker Street Spring Street Canal Street Worth Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall  6   <6>  City Hall ​Downtown &Brooklyn viaEastern Parkway Legend Lines used by the Other services sharing tracks with the Unused lines, connections, or service patterns  6  Termini of services Cross-platform interchange Platforms on different levels This diagram: view talk edit

The6 Lexington Avenue Local and<6> Pelham Bay Park Express^[3] are tworapid transit services in theA Division of theNew York City Subway. Their route emblems, or "bullets", are colored forest green since they use theIRT Lexington Avenue Line inManhattan.^[4] Local service is denoted by a(6) in a circular bullet, and express service is denoted by a<6> in a diamond-shaped bullet. On theR62A rolling stock, this is often indicated byLEDs around the service logo to indicate local or express service to riders. The LEDs illuminate in a green circle pattern for 6 local trains and in a red diamond pattern for <6> trains.

The 6 operates 24 hours daily betweenPelham Bay Park inthe Bronx andBrooklyn Bridge–City Hall inLower Manhattan, making all stops in Manhattan. Additional serviceshort turns atParkchester in the Bronx during weekday rush hours and middays and does not operate to or from Pelham Bay Park; during this time, 6 trains that originate and terminate at Parkchester make all stops in the Bronx, while trains that serve the full route make express stops in the Bronx between Parkchester andThird Avenue–138th Street in the peak direction and are labeled as<6> Express trains; when the <6> Express is not running, 6 trains originate and terminate at Pelham Bay Park and make all stops in the Bronx.

The 6 in its current format has run since the implementation of the IRT "H" system in 1918. Since 1920, it has remained largely unchanged, running between Pelham Bay Park and City Hall with a peak-express variant in the Bronx. In 1945, the city closed theCity Hall Loop station, the 6's former southern terminal in Manhattan. Since then, most 6 trains have terminated at Brooklyn Bridge, with a few exceptions in later years.In 2023^[update], the 6 was the busiest route in the subway system, carrying around 140 million passengers.^[5]

On October 27, 1904, local and express service opened on the original subway in Manhattan, following the route of the present IRT Lexington Avenue Line fromCity Hall toGrand Central–42nd Street. From there, the service traveled west on42nd Street on the route of the present42nd Street Shuttle, and then north on the presentIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to145th Street.^[6]

The current "H" configuration, with separate services along Lexington Avenue and Broadway/Seventh Avenue, was introduced in 1917.^[7] Full Lexington Avenue local service fromCity Hall to125th Street opened on July 17, 1918. Local service was extended toThird Avenue–138th Street on August 1, 1918.^[8]

On January 7, 1919, trains were extended from 138th Street to Hunts Point Avenue,^[9] and toEast 177th Street on May 30, 1920.^[10][11] Service between Hunts Point Avenue and East 177th Street was originally served by a shuttle service operating with elevated cars.^[12]

On October 24, 1920, service was extended again toWestchester Square.^[13] On December 20, 1920, service was extended to Pelham Bay Park.^[14] Service to Pelham Bay Park was served by a mix of through and shuttle trains during the 1920s.^[15]

On December 21, 1925, the number of Manhattan-bound through trains in the morning rush hour, between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., was increased from thirteen to eighteen; a 38 percent increase in service. The remainder of trains continued operating as a shuttle service to Hunts Point Avenue.^[16]

On January 28, 1931, two southbound morning rush hour trips began starting at Pelham Bay Park instead of Hunts Point Avenue. On April 13, 1931, service to Pelham Bay Park was increased. Two additional southbound trips were added, starting at Pelham Bay Park at 5:50 and 6:10 a.m., reducing headways from ten to five minutes. Four northbound trips that terminated at Hunts Point Avenue between 3:53 and 5:05 p.m. were extended to Pelham Bay Park, reducing headways from nine to six minutes, and four northbound trips terminating at Third Avenue-138th Street between 3:36 and 4:48 p.m. were extended to Hunts Point Avenue, reducing headways from4+1⁄2 to 3 minutes.^[17]

By 1934, service south of the City Hall station had been discontinued and late-night service ran from Pelham Bay Park to 125th Street only, being replaced by local service on the 4, which had previously run express.^{[citation needed]}

Effective December 31, 1945,City Hall station closed with the former Brooklyn Bridge station (renamed toBrooklyn Bridge–City Hall) being the permanent southernterminal.^[18][19] However, the 6 train still uses the loop to get from the southbound to the northbound local track at Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall.^[20]

On May 10, 1946, late-night service was extended from 125th Street to its previous terminus at Brooklyn Bridge when late-night express service on the 4 was restored.^[21][22]

Beginning October 14, 1946, weekday rush and Saturday morning rush peak direction express service started, with Pelham Bay trains using the middle track between East 177th Street and Third Avenue–138th Street.^[23] This express service saved eight minutes between Third Avenue and East 177th Street. During this time, 6 trains that ran local in the Bronx when express trains operated began to terminate atEast 177 Street to make room for express trains to Pelham Bay Park. On March 7, 1949, the hours of the evening Bronx-bound express service were advanced from 4:30 to 3:30 p.m., and on June 17, 1949, the hours of the morning Manhattan-bound express service were extended from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.^[22]

On September 22, 1948, 54 additional cars were placed in service on the 6 train, increasing the lengths of trains from six cars to seven cars.^[22]

The IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of"R-type" rolling stock, which containedrollsign curtains with numbered designations for each service. The first such fleet, theR12, was put into service in 1948.^[24] The Lexington–Pelham Bay route became known as the 6.^[25]

From December 15 to 22, 1950, the weekday rush hour trains from Pelham Bay Park were extended toSouth Ferry.^[21]

On June 23, 1956, Saturday morning express service began operating local.^[21] On March 1, 1960, late-night express service on the 4 was suspended when the 4 and 6 ran local in Manhattan together.^{[citation needed]} On April 8, 1960, late-night and weekend evening trains were extended to South Ferry. On October 17, 1965, late-night 4 service began running express once again, and weekend evening 6 service was extended to South Ferry.^[21] Trains were cut back from South Ferry to Brooklyn Bridge on May 23, 1976.^{[citation needed]}

Beginning on January 13, 1980, late-night service terminated at125th Street in Manhattan with the4 again making all stops south of there. This service cut affected 15,000 riders and was criticized by Manhattan Borough PresidentAndrew Stein as no public hearing was held.^[26] On the same day, Bronx express service was expanded to operate during middays, with Pelham Bay trains running express in the peak direction to Brooklyn Bridge in the morning and to Pelham Bay Park in the afternoon.^[21][27]

From March to May 1985, one weekday morning rush hour train was extended toAtlantic Avenue, terminated there, and returned in service to Pelham Bay Park. This service change was made due to track reconstruction taking place atPenn Station at the time, which forced someLong Island Rail Road trains to be diverted from Penn Station toAtlantic Terminal (then known as Flatbush Avenue), disrupting service for LIRR passengers; as a result, morning rush hour service on the routes serving the Lexington Avenue Line was increased in order to transport LIRR passengers who took diverted trains to Flatbush Avenue to reach Manhattan.^[28][29]

From January 21 to October 5, 1990, late-night service was extended back to Brooklyn Bridge when late-night express service on the 4 was restored. But the 6 was then cut back to 125th Street for the last time when late-night express service on the 4 in Manhattan was permanently discontinued.^[21][30]

Effective October 3, 1999, the 4 and 6 trains once again began to operate local together in Manhattan late nights when the 6 train was permanently extended back to Brooklyn Bridge.^[31]

After theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks, 6 service was cut back to Grand Central–42nd Street in the southbound direction. Southbound trains discharged at Grand Central, operated out of service to Brooklyn Bridge, and re-entered service at Brooklyn Bridge in the northbound direction. By the evening of September 12, service was restored to Spring Street, but southbound trains terminated at Bleecker Street, operated out of service to Brooklyn Bridge, and re-entered service at Spring Street. Normal 6 service was restored on September 17.^[32]

In August 2023, weekend frequencies on the 6 were increased from eight minutes to six minutes.^[33][34]

Until the timetable in effect on December 15, 2024, weekdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., select Manhattan-bound <6> trains ran local from Parkchester toHunts Point Avenue while select Parkchester-bound 6 trains ran express in that section. After this date, all Manhattan-bound <6> trains ran express and all Parkchester-bound 6 trains ran local in this section.^[35][36]

The following table shows the lines used by 6 and <6>, with shaded boxes indicating the route at the specified times:^[37]

Line	From	To	Tracks	Times
				weekday peak direction		all other times
IRT Pelham Line (full line)	Pelham Bay Park	Castle Hill Avenue	local
	Parkchester	Third Avenue–138th Street	express
			local
IRT Lexington Avenue Line	125th Street	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.^[3]

Station service legend
	Stops 24 hours a day
	Stops every day during daytime hours only
	Stops every day during overnight hours only
	Stops during weekday daytime hours only
	Stops every day except during weekdays in the peak direction
	Stops during weekdays in the peak direction only
	Station closed
Time period details
	Station is compliant with theAmericans with Disabilities Act
↑	Station is compliant with theAmericans with Disabilities Act in the indicated direction only
↓
	Elevator access to mezzanine only

		Stations		Subway transfers	Connections/other notes
The Bronx
Pelham Line
		Pelham Bay Park			Bx12 Select Bus Service
		Buhre Avenue
		Middletown Road
		Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue
		Zerega Avenue
		Castle Hill Avenue
		Parkchester			Q44 Select Bus Service On weekdays, all local peak direction and alternating trains in the off peak direction during rush hour and midday begin and end at this station.
	|	St. Lawrence Avenue
	|	Morrison Avenue–Soundview
	|	Elder Avenue
	|	Whitlock Avenue
		Hunts Point Avenue			Bx6 Select Bus Service
	|	Longwood Avenue
	|	East 149th Street
	|	East 143rd Street–St. Mary's Street
	|	Cypress Avenue
	|	Brook Avenue
		Third Avenue–138th Street			Some a.m. rush hour trips to Manhattan begin or end at this station
Manhattan
Lexington Avenue Line
		125th Street		4  ​5  ​	Metro-North Railroad atHarlem–125th Street M60 Select Bus Service toLaGuardia Airport One southbound p.m. rush hour trip begins at this station
		116th Street		4
		110th Street		4
		103rd Street		4
		96th Street		4
		86th Street	↑	4  ​5  ​	M86 Select Bus Service Station isADA-accessible in the northbound direction for the local platform only.
		77th Street		4	M79 Select Bus Service
		68th Street–Hunter College		4
		59th Street	↑	4  ​5  ​ N  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line atLexington Avenue–59th Street) Out-of-system transfer withMetroCard/OMNY: F  <F> ​​ N  ​Q  ​R  (63rd Street Lines atLexington Avenue–63rd Street)	Roosevelt Island Tramway Elevator access viaBloomingdale's in the northbound direction only during Bloomingdale's operating hours; no ADA access
		51st Street		4  E  ​M  (IND Queens Boulevard Line atLexington Avenue–53rd Street)
		Grand Central–42nd Street		4  ​5  ​ 7  <7> ​ (IRT Flushing Line) S  (42nd Street Shuttle)	Metro-North Railroad atGrand Central Terminal Long Island Rail Road atGrand Central Madison
		33rd Street		4	M34 / M34A Select Bus Service NYC Ferry: East River, Astoria, and Soundview Routes (onFDR Drive andEast 34th Street)
		28th Street	↓	4	Station isADA-accessible in the southbound direction only.
		23rd Street–Baruch College		4	M23 Select Bus Service NYC Ferry: Soundview Route (on FDR Drive/Avenue C and East 20th Street)
		14th Street–Union Square		4  ​5  ​ L  (BMT Canarsie Line) N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line)	M14A / M14D Select Bus Service
		Astor Place	↓	4	.
		Bleecker Street		4  B  ​D  ​F  <F> ​M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line atBroadway–Lafayette Street)
		Spring Street		4
		Canal Street		4  N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  (BMT Broadway Line) J  ​Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line)
		Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall		4  ​5  ​ J  ​Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line atChambers Street)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to6 (New York City Subway service).

• MTA NYC Transit – 6 Lexington Avenue / Pelham Local
• MTA NYC Transit – 6 Lexington Avenue Local / Pelham Express
• MTA Subway Time—6 Train
• "6 Subway Timetable, Effective November 2, 2025".Metropolitan Transportation Authority. RetrievedNovember 10, 2025.

• Interborough Rapid Transit Company
• New York City Subway services

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