Central Park West-8 Avenue-Fulton Local
The C train is the local variant of the A train and runs at all times except late nights (when A trains run local, stopping at all C train stations) between 168 Street and Euclid Avenue. The subway line currently runs a mixture of 8 car (mainly because of the train yard tracks being too short in the 207 Street yard to hold a 10 car trainset and lower ridership on the C train) 60 foot long trains of R179s, specifically assigned to the C train, with some 8 car trains of 70 foot long R46s supplementing the R179s from the Pitkin Train yard (these trains stop at 10 car markers, the other trains stop at 8 car markers). Historically the C train primarily operated with 8 car trains (all shorter trains) of 60-foot R38s and then 8 car trains of 60-foot R32s which meant the C train was the only train line New York City’s oldest rolling stock. The subway line is entirely underground. In later years in the 2010s when the R32s Air Conditioning Units weren't up to modern standards, for some summers the C trains were swapped with 8-Car R160s that normally operated on the mostly elevated J and Z trains.
The C train as it currently operates is the direct successor of the “AA.” When the IND originally debuted, single letters were supposed to represent expresses and double-letters locals. The “AA” operated primarily from 168 Street to Hudson Terminal throughout its existence except during rush hours when the CC train (and B/BB train running up to 168 Street) replaced it. Starting in 1977 late night AA service was eliminated, with A trains running local overnight.
Historically, the letter C was originally assigned for trains that operated from the Concourse Line to the 8th Avenue subway line. This meant from 1933 until 1940, when the 6 Avenue subway line opened, resulting in the opening of the D train, it provided the only service on the Concourse Line with two services: a “C” Express train that operated primarily during rush hours and a "CC" local train that operated at all times between Bedford Park Blvd (rush hours) and 205 Street and Lower Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn.
The express rush hour variant lasted until 1949 when the CC train became a rush hours only local service between Hudson Terminal (today’s Word Trade Center) and Bedford Park Blvd. This rush hour only train service changed again in 1976, when the CC trains were extended via the Fulton Street local tracks into Brooklyn and Queens to Far Rockaway. The CC train became the only New York City Subway Line to touch all 4 boroughs. During non-rush hours CC train service was restored, now as a shuttle between Rockaway Park and Broadway Channel (today’s S Rockaway Park Shuttle).
Service changed again in 1985 when double-letters were illuminated with now Diamond C trains operating only during rush hours between Bedford Park Blvd and Rockaway Park. The off-peak Rockaway Park Shuttle was now named the H train. From 1985 through 1988, after the illumination of double-letters, the K train began operated on this routing as the “AA,” from 168 Street to World Trade Center except rush hours and late nights.
In 1988 the C train finally began operating during non-rush hours in Manhattan order to eliminate the K train. This was partially caused by the fact that switching B and C trains into K trains during non-rush hours required a lot of turning of the roll signs since the letters were quite far apart, unlike B or CC to AA that were right next to each other on the roll signs. The C train now operated still between Bedford Park Blvd and Rockaway Park during rush hours, between 145 Street and Euclid Avenue during middays (adding midday A Express train service for the first time in Brooklyn) and from 145 Street to World Trade Center during evenings and weekends.
The next change occurred in 1994 when weekend C train service was extended to 168 Street (allowing A trains to now skip 155 Street and 163 Street on Weekends). This began the C trains march to become a direct replacement for the AA. From 1994 through 1998 Service now operated with 3 different northern terminals and 2 different southern terminals depending upon the time of Day:
This was all simplified on March 1, 1998 when the B and C trains switched northern terminals (ending the historical lettering for IND subway lines by northern terminal) when the C train just became the AA. This service change was done to reduce confusion of a subway line having 3 different terminals depending upon the time of day and day of the week, and to reduce crowding on the C train. C trains now ran from 168 Street except late nights, at first still to Euclid Avenue during weekdays only, ending at the World Trade Center during evenings after 9:00pm and weekends. Finally on May 2, 1999 the C train received its current routing by being extended to Euclid Avenue during late evenings and on weekends, allowing the A train to run express at all times except late nights.
