L 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 L train?
Share of trips reaching the last stop within 5 minutes of schedule, by month, vs the whole subway.
The L train ran 87.1% of its trips on time (October 2025 – September 2026), better than the subway as a whole (82.9%). It ranks #6 of 23 lines, where #1 is the most on time. Its on-time rate fell by 4.3 points compared with the 12 months before (91.4%).
Why is the L train delayed?
Delayed trains by cause, October 2025 – September 2026. "Planned ROW work" is scheduled track work.
The L train averaged about 2,044 delayed trains a month. The main causes: infrastructure & equipment (38%), planned row work (30%), police & medical (16%).
Report card
October 2025 – September 2026. Major incidents are counted per line, so the subway total is the sum.
| L train | Whole subway | |
|---|---|---|
| Trips on time | 87.1% | 82.9% |
| Trips 5+ minutes late | 10.8% | 15% |
| Extra wait on the platform | 73 sec | 79 sec |
| Extra time on the train | 44 sec | 31 sec |
| Gaps kept to schedule, rush hour | 70.4% | – |
| Major incidents (50+ trains delayed) | 53 | 865 |
| Trips a month on this line (MTA estimate) | 7,826,425 | – |
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 L train?
The L train ran 87.1% of its trips on time (October 2025 – September 2026), better than the subway as a whole (82.9%). It ranks #6 of 23 lines, where #1 is the most on time.
Why is the L train delayed?
The L train averaged about 2,044 delayed trains a month. The main causes: infrastructure & equipment (38%), planned row work (30%), police & medical (16%).
How often is the L train late?
About 10.8% of L train trips took at least 5 minutes longer than scheduled (subway: 15%). Riders waited on average 73 seconds longer on the platform than the schedule says.
Is the L train getting better or worse?
Its on-time rate fell by 4.3 points compared with the 12 months before (91.4%).
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.
Let's talk about transit data
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).