C train: Delays, On-Time Rate & Reliability
Report card from MTA open data, October 2025 – September 2026 · Not affiliated with the MTA · Live service status on mta.info →
How reliable is the C train?
Share of trips reaching the last stop within 5 minutes of schedule, by month, vs the whole subway.
The C train ran 80% of its trips on time (October 2025 – September 2026), worse than the subway as a whole (82.9%). It ranks #14 of 23 lines, where #1 is the most on time. Its on-time rate improved by 4.8 points compared with the 12 months before (75.2%).
Why is the C train delayed?
Delayed trains by cause, October 2025 – September 2026. "Planned ROW work" is scheduled track work.
The C train averaged about 1,197 delayed trains a month. The main causes: infrastructure & equipment (37%), planned row work (20%), police & medical (19%).
Report card
October 2025 – September 2026. Major incidents are counted per line, so the subway total is the sum.
| C train | Whole subway | |
|---|---|---|
| Trips on time | 80% | 82.9% |
| Trips 5+ minutes late | 16.7% | 15% |
| Extra wait on the platform | 91 sec | 79 sec |
| Extra time on the train | 6 sec | 31 sec |
| Gaps kept to schedule, rush hour | 71.7% | – |
| Major incidents (50+ trains delayed) | 25 | 865 |
| Trips a month on this line (MTA estimate) | 5,306,187 | – |
Other lines
All lines ranked 42 St Shuttle Franklin Av Shuttle Rockaway Park Shuttle 7 J/Z L G M 1 3 R 5 4 C D 6 A E Q F 2 N B
Questions
How reliable is the C train?
The C train ran 80% of its trips on time (October 2025 – September 2026), worse than the subway as a whole (82.9%). It ranks #14 of 23 lines, where #1 is the most on time.
Why is the C train delayed?
The C train averaged about 1,197 delayed trains a month. The main causes: infrastructure & equipment (37%), planned row work (20%), police & medical (19%).
How often is the C train late?
About 16.7% of C train trips took at least 5 minutes longer than scheduled (subway: 15%). Riders waited on average 91 seconds longer on the platform than the schedule says.
Is the C train getting better or worse?
Its on-time rate improved by 4.8 points compared with the 12 months before (75.2%).
More NYC transit data
- NYC subway ridership: Busiest stations, find your station and an animated subway map, updated daily.
- NYC congestion pricing: Zone map, hours, cost and daily data on whether it's working.
- NYC bus routes ranked: The busiest, slowest and least reliable buses, with a report card for each route.
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Found something surprising about your station? Have a question the data could answer, or an idea for what to dig into next (congestion pricing, a train line, an event)? I'd love to hear it, and I'm always up for talking about transit data.
Data (data.ny.gov): Terminal On-Time Performance, Customer Journey-Focused Metrics, Trains Delayed, Wait Assessment, Major Incidents. Updated Oct 28, 2026. The MTA's own charts: metrics.mta.info.
Source code: github.com/MantieReid/mta-data-analysis · Analysis by Mantie Reid II (CC BY 4.0).