You're standing at the top of the stairs at 72nd Street, looking down into that dark concrete cavern, and you're wondering: is 1 train running today or am I about to spend forty bucks on an Uber? We’ve all been there. New York City transit is a living, breathing, sometimes coughing organism that doesn't always care about your morning meeting or your dinner reservations in Tribeca.
Honestly, the 1 train is the backbone of the West Side. It’s the local hero. It hits every single stop from Van Cortlandt Park down to South Ferry, which is great until it isn't. When the MTA decides to do "planned maintenance," your twenty-minute commute suddenly turns into a shuttle bus odyssey that feels like it’s taking you to a different state.
The messy reality of checking if the 1 train is running today
First off, don't trust the static signs. Those posters taped to the station walls are often remnants of a construction project from three weeks ago. If you want to know if the 1 train is running today, you have to go straight to the source, but you have to know how to read between the lines of what the MTA is actually saying.
The official MTA Service Status dashboard is your first stop. Usually, it’ll show a nice green checkmark. Everything looks fine. But then you scroll down and see the dreaded "Service Change" note in yellow. This is where they hide the truth. It might say "1 trains are skipping 103rd St," or "1 trains are running in two sections." That second one is the real killer. It means if you’re trying to go from the Bronx to Chelsea, you’re going to be walking or transferring at 96th Street whether you like it or not.
Why the 1 train randomly stops working
It’s almost always the tracks. Or the signals. Or "customer assistance," which is the polite way of saying someone had a medical emergency or jumped onto the tracks.
The 1 line is old. Like, really old. Some of the infrastructure dating back to the early 1900s is still being held together by the transit equivalent of duct tape and prayer. When the MTA does "Fastrack" repairs, they basically shut down huge chunks of the line overnight or on weekends to replace rails that have been vibrating under heavy steel cars for decades. If you see a bunch of workers in neon vests carrying heavy equipment near the 242nd St terminal, you already know your weekend plans are toasted.
Reading the "Planned Work" schedule like a pro
Most people get tripped up because they check the status at 8:00 AM on a Tuesday and think they're golden for the rest of the week. Big mistake. The MTA loves to start their "weekend" schedule at 11:45 PM on Friday. If you’re out at a bar in the West Village and you assume the 1 is going to take you home at 1:00 AM, you might find yourself staring at a "No Trains" sign.
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Specific things to look for:
- Split service: This is common during track work between 96th and 137th. You’ll have one train running from the Bronx to 137th, then a gap, then another train running from 96th down to South Ferry. In between? A "free" shuttle bus that moves at the speed of a tectonic plate.
- Express switching: Sometimes, the 1 will run on the express tracks (the 2 or 3 lines) between 96th and Times Square. If your stop is 86th or 79th, you’re out of luck. You’ll overshoot your destination and have to double back.
- The South Ferry Loop: Occasionally, construction at the southern tip means trains end at Chambers St or Wall St. If you're trying to catch the Staten Island Ferry, this adds a solid fifteen minutes of walking to your trip.
Better tools than the official app
The MYmta app has improved, but let’s be real—it can be glitchy. If you really need to know if the 1 train is running today with high accuracy, I recommend Transit or Citymapper. These apps use crowdsourced data. If five people are standing on the platform at 50th Street and the train hasn't moved in ten minutes, the app will reflect that delay long before the MTA’s official system updates.
Another "pro tip" is checking the @NYCTSubway account on X (formerly Twitter). They are surprisingly responsive. If you tweet at them asking why you've been sitting in a tunnel outside 18th Street for twenty minutes, they’ll usually give you the real-time reason, like "mechanical difficulties on a train ahead." It doesn't make the train move faster, but at least you know you aren't imagining the delay.
The "Ghost Train" phenomenon
You see it on the countdown clock. "1 Train - 2 minutes." Then it changes to "4 minutes." Then it disappears entirely.
This usually happens when a train is taken out of service at a terminal or if there's a signal malfunction that prevents the tracking system from seeing where the car actually is. On the 1 line, this is notorious around the 96th Street junction because that’s where the 1, 2, and 3 all converge and fight for track space. If a 2 train is running late, the MTA might hold your 1 train in the tunnel to let the express pass. It’s annoying, but that’s the hierarchy of the West Side IRT.
What to do when the 1 train actually is down
Don't panic. You have options, though some are better than others.
If you’re uptown, the A, B, C, and D lines on Central Park West are your best friends. It’s a bit of a hike from Broadway over to CPW or St. Nicholas Ave, but it’s often faster than waiting for a shuttle bus. If you’re in the 80s or 90s, just walk. Seriously. The walk from 86th to 72nd is nice, and you’ll get there faster than a congested M104 bus would take you.
Downstairs in the Village or Chelsea? The M7 or M20 buses follow the 1 train’s route pretty closely. They are slow, sure, but they have air conditioning and you can see the street.
The human element of the 1 line
We talk about tracks and signals, but the 1 train is really defined by the people. It’s the "Columbia University Express." It’s the "Lincoln Center Local." It’s the train where you’ll see a Juilliard student practicing fingerings on a violin neck next to a construction worker headed to the World Trade Center site.
When you ask if the 1 train is running today, you’re asking about the pulse of the West Side. When it’s down, the neighborhood feels different. The sidewalks get more crowded. People look more stressed. But when it's running smoothly—hitting those stops at 66th, 59th, and 50th in a rhythmic blur—it’s the most efficient way to see the city.
A quick note on safety and "Showtime"
The 1 train is generally one of the "safer" feeling lines because it's rarely empty. Even at 3:00 AM, there are people coming home from shifts or bars. However, the 1 is also a prime spot for "Showtime" performers because the cars are older and have those nice poles for swinging. If you see a group of kids with a boombox entering your car at 42nd Street, and you aren't in the mood for a backflip inches from your nose, just move to the next car at the next stop.
How to prepare for your commute
Check the status before you leave your apartment. Not when you get to the turnstile. If the 1 is messed up, you need that five-minute lead time to pivot to the 2/3 or the A/C.
Look for the "Live Subway Map" online. It shows the actual little gray rectangles moving along the lines in real-time. If you see a big cluster of rectangles stuck between 116th and 125th, you know there's a bottleneck. It’s way more intuitive than reading a text alert that says "Trains are running with delays."
Final checklist for the 1 train rider
- Check the MTA homepage for the "Service Status" box.
- Verify the weekend/late-night schedule specifically if you’re traveling outside 9-to-5 hours.
- Have a backup bus route memorized (M104 for Broadway, M7/M20 for Seventh Ave).
- Listen to the conductor. Sometimes the overhead announcements are muffled, but they often have the most "human" information about why the train is stopped.
The 1 train is a beast, but it’s our beast. It’s the red line that connects the high-energy chaos of Times Square with the quiet, leafy streets of Riverdale. It’s rarely perfect, but it’s always an adventure.
Next steps for a smooth trip:
Open the official MTA Live Subway Map on your phone right now. Look at the 1 line (the red one). If you see a bunch of trains bunched up or huge gaps between the icons, start looking at the A/C or the 2/3 as your "Plan B" before you even leave the house. If the map shows a clear, even spacing of trains, you’re probably good to go. Just remember to check the "Planned Work" tab one last time to make sure there aren't any surprise station bypasses happening today.