What counts as a NYC subway delay? Why trains are mostly on time
What counts as a NYC subway delay? Why trains are mostly on time
Amethyst Martinez, USA TODAYTue, April 21, 2026 at 7:43 PM UTC
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What counts as a NYC subway delay? Why trains are mostly on time
New Yorkers know that the one of the worst feelings is seeing that your train line is delayed.
Whether that be walking down the steps to a full train platform or getting an MTA text on your phone, it can throw off your entire day in a matter of seconds.
Here is everything you about train delays in the MTA subway system.
How many New Yorkers are affected by train delays every year?
The MTA classifies trains as on time if they arrive within five minutes of its scheduled arrival and does not skip any stops.
Of the 2.7 million subway trains scheduled for 2024, over 486,000 didn't reach their destination on time, according to a 2025 report from the New York State's Comptroller Office.
Trains were on schedule just over 82% of the time. In metrics released by the MTA, the subway was taken almost 1.2 billion times in 2024.
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What are the most common reasons for MTA train delays?
In 2024, the most common cause of MTA train delays was infrastructure and equipment issues at 31%, up from 24% the year prior.
"About one-third of these delays were attributable to signal problems and another 14 percent werethe result of problems with rails or with the roadbed," the office said in the report. Another 25% of delays were caused by planned maintenance work.
Police and medical delays came in at 23% of total issues reported in 2024. This could be anything from crime on the subway to a passenger who needs medical care. The number also includes "unauthorized people on the roadbed," the report says.
Other reasons for delays include:
Operating conditions, like overcrowding (12%)
Crew availability (7%)
External factors, like weather (2%)
What lines have the worst delays?
According to the report for 2024, the train lines that had to most delays were:
6 train
F train
N train
2 train
A train
The lines that had the lowest on-time performance percentages include:
B train
C train
F train
2 train
D train
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What actually causes MTA subway delays? Here's what to know
Source: “AOL Breaking”
