New York City Subway bullets
Timeline of service labels
[edit]1967
[edit]On November 26, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) introduced the first set of colored service labels (also known as bullets), to coincide with the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection. The first phase of the connection, opened on November 26, connected the IND 6th Avenue Line with the Manhattan Bridge.
| New set |
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1968
[edit]Around this year, all SS service labels were colored green.
On April 15, the NX was withdrawn, due to low usage. Three months later, on July 1, the Chrystie Street Connection to the Williamsburg Bridge opened, resulting in the creation of the KK. The JJ and RJ were absorbed into QJ service, but some RR trains were re-routed to terminate at Chambers Street on the Nassau Street Line during rush hours, to preserve the RJ connection between 4th Avenue and Nassau Street. The TT West End Shuttle was absorbed into B service.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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1969
[edit]On October 4, the MJ ceased operations with the closure of the western half of the Myrtle Avenue Line. Rollsigns made in April and July for the R16, R32 and R38 subway cars had a provision for an MM service which was to run along Sixth Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, as a KK supplement. The defunct JJ and TT services were seen on these rollsigns.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
| No additions |
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| Bullets reserved on the R16/32/38 | |
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1972
[edit]By the time the first edition of the Vignelli map was released, the Dyre Avenue SS merged into the 5, and the Lenox Terminal SS into the 3. On September 11, the HH also merged into the E.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
| No additions |
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| Situation in 1972 | |
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1973
[edit]On January 2, the KK was re-named K and its northern terminus was truncated to East New York. The QJ was re-named J and truncated to Broad Street. The M was subsequently extended out to Coney Island via Brighton to make up for lost QJ service there. Three months later, on April 28, the 8 service ended with the closure of the last section of the IRT Third Avenue Line.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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1975
[edit]On May 10, the Culver SS was closed.
1976
[edit]On August 30, the K was withdrawn, and the N was extended out to 71st Avenue on Queens Blvd to replace the EE. The rush-hour E to Rockaway was replaced by a rush-hour CC from Rockaway Park to Bedford Park Blvd. During off-peak daytime hours, the CC would run as a shuttle between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park, and during rush hours, it would run between Euclid Avenue and Rockaway Park.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
| No additions |
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1977
[edit]On February 12, the Bowling Green/South Ferry SS was closed.
1978
[edit]On September 23, the MTA launched the JFK Express. On station signs, the JFK Express bullet would have the text "JFK Express" under the bullet.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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No removals |
1979
[edit]In June 1979, the MTA introduced a new color scheme, grouping services into the Manhattan trunk lines they served. The only exception was Broadway Brooklyn, which was chosen as the trunk line for the brown lines. They also used diamonds to represent rush-hour trains. The SS shuttles became S.
| New set |
|---|
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May 1985
[edit]On May 5, 1985, the MTA abolished the seven remaining double-letter services and renamed them into single letters. The AA was re-named K and the <QB> was re-named Q. The GG and LL were re-named G and L. The off-peak CC Rockaway shuttle train (as well as the A Rockaway Shuttle train) was re-named H, while the rush-hour variant to Bedford Park was kept and re-named <C>. Nassau Street replaced Broadway Brooklyn as the trunk line for the brown lines, turning the yellow <RR> into a brown <R>, though this change took a while to be reflected on maps and rollsigns (hence why there still exists a yellow <R>). Rush-hour <N> service to Whitehall Street was also removed.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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1986
[edit]Starting April 26, maintenance on the Manhattan Bridge closed connections to the 6th Avenue Line. Both the B and D were cut back to 34th Street Herald Square on 6th Avenue, while a Broadway B and D were created to service West End and Brighton in Brooklyn, respectively. During rush hours, the Broadway B would terminate at Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. The M was re-routed to 4th Avenue and West End, with rush-hour trains terminating at Bay Parkway. The Q was changed from rush hours to local times only on weekdays as well.
1987
[edit]In 1987, the MTA rolled out a revised shade of blue, to match the new MTA logo.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
    
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1988
[edit]Starting December 11, maintenance on the Manhattan Bridge switched and closed the connection to the Broadway Line, re-opening the connection to 6th Avenue. Subsequently, the Q was re-routed via 6th Avenue. The K was discontinued and the C took its place, changing from a diamond bullet to a circle bullet (however, the diamond C can be seen on maps to represent rush hours until 1998). The C ran during off-peak daytime hours and in skip-stop service, it returned to Broadway Brooklyn. R30, R32 and R38 subway cars came out of General Overhaul and received provisions for five subway labels in a white disc with black text (they are placeholders), with date of production on the signs dating as early as September 1988. There was also a provision for an express W service for Broadway and and a Sixth Avenue V service. The Z service was introduced as a skip stop service for the J. Rush-hour R service on Nassau Street was discontinued.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
  
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| Bullets reserved on the R30/32/38 | |
      
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August 1989
[edit]On August 21, 1989, the MTA introduced an express 9 service for the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Around this time (exact year unknown), the R62/A rollsigns have a provision for using double-digit numbers on IRT express services as a way to substitute the diamond bullets in case they decided to give the express services seperate labels.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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No removals |
| Bullets reserved on the R62/A | |
    
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April 1990
[edit]On April 15, 1990, the JFK Express was discontinued. The color was later reserved for the Second Avenue Subway.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
| No additions |
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1991
[edit]In 1991, the MTA had proposed for a K train service as a BMT Canarsie Line skip-stop train, appearing on the R110B rollsign as a gray bullet. However, the idea was scrapped later on.
| Bullets reserved on the R110B |
|---|
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October 1992
[edit]On October 23, 1992, the MTA rearranged services to and from the Rockaway Peninsula. The MTA stopped using the H to represent the Rockaway Shuttle and was replaced by a blue S (later a dark gray S). However,to distinguish the three shuttles, the MTA uses the H as the internal designator of the Rockaway Shuttle.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
 
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June 1993
[edit]On June 15, 1993, the MTA started doing testing on the R110B. One of the bullets used on this train was the Orange A Bullet used on the R110B rollsign. The Route that was purposed for this line was between Washington Heights-207 Street to Brighton Beach via Sixth Avenue. Here’s the purposed map for the 1991 Service Capacity Plan.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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No Removals |
1997
[edit]Late night 63rd Street Shuttle replaces the F on 63rd Street.
1998
[edit]On February 22nd, the Temporary 63rd Street Shuttle via the Broadway Line replaces the Sixth Avenue Line service.
2001
[edit]On July 22, 2001, the start of the final phase of maintenance work on the Manhattan Bridge caused the connection to 6th Avenue to close once again. The B and D were once again cut back to 34th Street Herald Square. The Q service was restored to the BMT Broadway Line, and the <Q> and W were created as substitutes for the 6th Avenue Express Q on Brighton and the B on West End, respectively. The circle Q was switched to Brighton Local as a replacement for the D. On December 17, 2001, the V service began operations via the IND Sixth Avenue Line, to coincide with the opening of the 63rd Street Connector and the re-routing of the F away from the 53rd Street Tunnel.
The collapse of the World Trade Center resulted in temporary service suspensions and diversions, but no temporary service labels.
| Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|
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2004
[edit]In 2004, the MTA stopped using the diamond Q. Service previously available on the diamond Q was replaced by the B.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | No additions |
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| Standard | No additions | 
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2005
[edit]In 2005, the 9 service ceased operations, due to reliability issues.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | No additions |
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| Standard | No additions | 
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June 2010
[edit]On June 27, 2010, financial problems in the MTA caused the V and W services to cease operations, while the M service joined the IND Sixth Avenue Line, substituting in for the V service on 53rd Street and Queens Boulevard. This new M service caused the connection between the Williamsburg Bridge and the 6th Avenue Line, which had not been used since the elimination of the Broadway Brooklyn-6th Avenue K in 1976, to re-enter revenue service.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | 
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| Standard | 
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2012
[edit]In September 2012, the MTA released the first edition of the Late Night Subway Service map, which featured the gray version of the A service, running between Euclid Avenue and Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard. From November 20, 2012, to May 30, 2013, the impact of Hurricane Sandy resulted in the creation of the temporary H service.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | 
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No removals |
| Standard | 
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No removals |
| Typeface | Temporary services | |
| Helvetica |
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| Standard | 
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December 2015
[edit]On December 6, 2015, the new timetable for the A service stopped using <A> to represent the rush hour express service between Manhattan and Rockaway Park. The change left the <6> and <7> as the only remaining diamond services until <F> service started in 2019.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | No additions |
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| Standard | No additions | 
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November 2016
[edit]On 7 November 2016, the W service returned to the BMT Broadway Line to accommodate Astoria riders when the Q was truncated to 57th Street-Seventh Avenue prior to the opening of the Second Avenue Subway.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica |
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No removals |
| Standard |
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No removals |
2018
[edit]In the summer of 2018, the MTA started using SF and SR in service status updates, to distinguish respectively the Franklin Avenue and Rockaway Park Shuttles.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica |  
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No removals |
| Standard |  
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No removals |
September 2019
[edit]On September 16 2019, the MTA started using <F> for the new F Express in Brooklyn.
| Typeface | Bullets added | Bullets removed |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | 
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No removals |
| Standard | 
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No removals |
Current status (September 2026)
[edit]The Helvetica and Standard sets are both in widespread use: the inconsistency is likely due to regulations on the distribution of the NYCTA Bullet font. Neither sets meet the threshold of originality needed for copyright protection, but trademark rights may apply.
| Typeface | Active use | Internal use |
|---|---|---|
| Helvetica | 
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| Standard |                          
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Future
[edit]The MTA plans to:
- Introduce the T service, when the Second Avenue Subway is extended south of 72nd Street, towards Hanover Square.
| Typeface | Bullets added |
|---|---|
| Helvetica | 
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| Standard |
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