In the New York City Subway there are several types of transfer stations:
- A station complex is where two or more stations are connected with a passageway inside fare control. There are stations of the New York City Subway when each station is counted separately. When station complexes are counted as one station each, the count of stations is .
- Station serving two or more lines. It may be a multi-level or adjacent-platform station and is considered to be one station as classified by the MTA. Typically each track in a station belongs to a certain line.
- Station serving two or more services. Different services may share tracks. These stations are not included in this article; see List of New York City Subway stations.
thumb|left|250px|Staircase connecting two stations at [[Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street (New York City Subway)|Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street]]
Transfers are not limited to enclosed passageways. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), manager of the New York City Subway, also offers limited free transfers between subway lines that allow passengers to reenter the system's fare control. This was originally done through a paper ticketing system before it was replaced by the MetroCard. Now the only permanent MetroCard and OMNY subway-to-subway transfers are between the Lexington Avenue/59th Street complex () and the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station () in Manhattan and between the Junius Street () and Livonia Avenue () stations in Brooklyn. The contactless OMNY fare payment system installed in 2019-2020 supports the same free transfers as the MetroCard does.
Some paper transfers between specific subway stations and bus routes also existed prior to July 4, 1997, when the MetroCard allowed free system-wide subway–bus transfers with fewer restrictions. The Rockaway Parkway station on the BMT Canarsie Line () offers a transfer to the B42 bus within the station's fare control, the only such transfer within the NYCTA. This transfer was removed in 2025 due to heavy fare evasion.
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Context
thumb|250px|left|The former and current track configurations at the [[Queensboro Plaza (New York City Subway)|Queensboro Plaza cross-platform transfer station]]
The system was created from the consolidation of three separate companies that merged in 1940: the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), and the Independent Subway System (IND). The earliest transfer stations were between lines of the same system: either the IRT, BMT or IND. The earliest free connection between lines that remains in existence is at Grand Central–42nd Street between the IRT Flushing Line and the original IRT subway (now served by the IRT 42nd Street Shuttle), which opened on June 22, 1915. The Court Square complex in Queens, which opened in 1988 as a connection between the IND Queens Boulevard and IND Crosstown lines, was expanded by adding a passageway to the IRT Flushing Line on June 3, 2011. A free transfer from to the uptown platform of opened on September 25, 2012. A passageway between and opened on December 29, 2017, along with a connection to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. A passageway to the IRT was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948. The Bleecker Street uptown platform was remodeled to provide an easier transfer to/from the Broadway-Lafayette Street station and opened on March 26, 2012. The northbound transfer for the Lexington Avenue line opened on September 25, 2012, and the station became ADA-accessible.
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| IND Sixth Avenue Line
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| IRT Lexington Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | These two adjacent stations on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and BMT Nassau Street Line are connected by two passageways. The south one opened in 1914, and was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.
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| BMT Nassau Street Line
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| rowspan=4 | Canal Street
| (lower level – express)
| BMT Broadway Line
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| rowspan=4 | The lower level of the BMT Broadway Line is linked to the upper level of the BMT Broadway Line, the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and the BMT Nassau Street Line via passageways. The three BMT stations were linked on September 4, 1917, when the Broadway Line opened. The IRT was connected on January 16, 1978.
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 |
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| IND Sixth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | A passageway between the IND Sixth Avenue Line and BMT Nassau Street Line was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.<!--it's not in the list in the article, but it is on a 1948 map-->
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| BMT Nassau Street Line
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| rowspan=4 | Fulton Street/Fulton Center
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| IND Eighth Avenue Line
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| rowspan="4" | A complicated network of passageways connects four separate stations on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, BMT Nassau Street Line, and IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. The full transfer system here was formed on July 1, 1948. While the passageways between the Eighth Avenue, Nassau Street, and Broadway–Seventh Avenue platforms all existed at the time, and were simply placed inside fare control, a paper transfer to the Lexington Avenue Line was issued at first, In December 2010, the Eighth Avenue Line station's name was changed from Broadway–Nassau Street to Fulton Street.
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| IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| IRT Lexington Avenue Line
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| BMT Nassau Street Line
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| rowspan="3" | Oculus
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| rowspan="2" |In November 2014, the Fulton Center opened, connecting the stations to Cortlandt Street outside of fare control, through the Dey Street Passageway. The BMT Broadway Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line stations at Cortlandt Street and World Trade Center were connected in 2017 via a passageway.
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| rowspan="2" |
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|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| rowspan="2" | A new passageway opened concurrently with the opening of the new South Ferry station on March 16, 2009. This connects the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line with the Whitehall Street station on the BMT Broadway Line.
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| rowspan=2 |
| lower level
| IND Sixth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The station became a transfer station when the Sixth Avenue Line opened in 1940.
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| upper level
| IND Eighth Avenue Line
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Former transfers
When the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line closed from Chatham Square to South Ferry on December 22, 1950, a paper transfer was given to the M15 bus route. The Third Avenue Line was closed in Manhattan on May 12, 1955, removing this transfer.
When the new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, the Public Service Commission was unprepared for the heavy traffic using the 42nd Street Shuttle. The shuttle was closed for rebuilding at the end of August 3, and a paper transfer was added between Rector Street on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and Wall Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (the only one of the two lines to go to Brooklyn at that time). Shuttle service resumed on September 28, 1918, but the transfer remained, and was expanded to allow transfers from Wall Street on the Brooklyn Branch of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, its temporary end. After the Brooklyn Branch was completed on April 15, 1919, the transfer was no longer needed.
There was never a free transfer between the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (outer) and IRT Lexington Avenue Line (inner) platforms at South Ferry. However, by 1960, night and weekend Lexington Avenue Line service (5 and 6 trains) stopped at the outer platform. This unadvertised transfer existed until 1977, when Lexington Avenue Line trains stopped running to South Ferry.
Midtown and Upper Manhattan
{| class="wikitable"
! width=15% | Station complex
! width=15% | Individual stations
! width=15% | Lines
! width=12% | Services
! width=43% | Notes
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| rowspan=2 | 34th Street–Herald Square
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| rowspan=2 | The BMT Broadway Line and IND Sixth Avenue Line, which lie on top of each other, received a transfer at the time of the July 1, 1948 fare increase. An existing connection was placed inside fare control. The Flushing Line station opened on June 22, 1915, and the Lexington Avenue Line station on July 17, 1918, each with direct connections to the existing station. The elevated IRT Second Avenue Line was closed on June 13, 1942, and, starting the next day, a paper transfer The Third Avenue Line closed on May 12, 1955, ending this transfer.
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| IRT Flushing Line
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| IRT Lexington Avenue Line
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| bgcolor="#BBBBBB" | 42nd Street
| IRT Third Avenue Line
| N/A
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| rowspan=5 | Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal
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| IRT 42nd Street Shuttle
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| rowspan=5 | At Times Square, a number of passageways connect the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, IRT Flushing Line, IRT 42nd Street Shuttle, and BMT Broadway Line. A block-long passageway west to the IND Eighth Avenue Line is also inside fare control. The first transfer here was between the original IRT subway (now the shuttle platform) and the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, opened on June 3, 1917, when the latter line opened as a shuttle to . The Flushing Line was extended to Times Square on March 14, 1927, and a passageway connecting the IRT and BMT was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.
A passageway to the 42nd Street–Bryant Park station opened on September 7, 2021, along with a new platform at the shuttle station. The new passageway is closed during late nights, when the shuttle doesn't operate.
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| IRT Flushing Line
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| IND Eighth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 |
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| IND Sixth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | A paper transfer was added between the IND Sixth Avenue Line and IRT Flushing Line at Bryant Park on July 1, 1968, when KK service started and the new station opened. The transfer was only valid on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. until a passageway was opened by 1971.
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| IRT Flushing Line
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| rowspan=2 |
| upper level
| IND Eighth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The station became a transfer station when the Queens Boulevard Line opened in 1933. There is no free connection between trains in opposite directions. A free transfer only exists between the northbound (uptown) services and another exists between the southbound (downtown) services.
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| lower level
| IND Queens Boulevard Line
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| rowspan=2 |
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| IRT Lexington Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | A passageway connects these two stations on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and IND Queens Boulevard Line. The $13 million tunnel was paid for by Boston Properties, who was building an office tower on the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street, in exchange for a zoning bonus of 20% more space, and opened in early November 1986.
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| IND Queens Boulevard Line
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| rowspan=2 | cross-platform interchange on two levels
| IND Sixth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The station became a transfer station when the Sixth Avenue Line opened in 1940.
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| IND Queens Boulevard Line
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| rowspan=2 | 59th Street–Columbus Circle
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| IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line stations at Columbus Circle, which lie above each other, are connected by a passageway that was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.
The cross-platform transfer between both the IND and BMT 63rd Street lines opened on January 1, 2017 with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway. Lexington Avenue-63rd Street was originally a two level station with the BMT tracks hidden behind a now demolished wall with orange tiles.
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| BMT Broadway Line
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| rowspan=2 | <br/>(cross-platform interchange on two levels)
| IND 63rd Street Line
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| BMT 63rd Street Line
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| rowspan=2 |
| upper level
| IND Eighth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The station became a transfer station when the Concourse Line opened in 1933.
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| lower level
| IND Concourse Line
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| rowspan=2 | 168th Street (New York City Subway)
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| IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | At the crossing of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line in Washington Heights, a passageway connects the two stations. It was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948. at the Polo Grounds (155th Street), between the IND Concourse Line and Polo Grounds Shuttle, was created on June 12, 1940, immediately after the IRT Ninth Avenue Line was closed south of 155th Street. It, along with the new transfer at 161st Street–Yankee Stadium, allowed passengers who had taken the Ninth Avenue Line from the IRT Jerome Avenue Line in the Bronx to use the IND Concourse Line and IND Eighth Avenue Line. The Polo Grounds Shuttle and the transfer were discontinued on August 31, 1958.
The Bronx
{| class="wikitable"
! width=15% | Station complex
! width=15% | Individual stations
! width=15% | Lines
! width=12% | Services
! width=43% | Notes
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| rowspan=2 | 149th Street–Grand Concourse
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| IRT Jerome Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | The station became a transfer station when the Jerome Avenue Line opened in 1917. The upper-level Jerome Avenue platforms and the lower-level White Plains Road platforms are perpendicular to each other.
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| IRT White Plains Road Line
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| rowspan=2 | 161st Street–Yankee Stadium
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| IND Concourse Line
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| rowspan=2 | A passageway connects the elevated IRT Jerome Avenue Line and underground IND Concourse Line at Yankee Stadium. The free transfer was added on June 12, 1940 as a paper transfer, It was connected into the original IRT subway on July 10, 1905, and Third Avenue service was ended. Transfers were given at 149th Street for passengers who wanted to change to Third Avenue, and transfers were added between the Manhattan-bound subway and the Third Avenue Line to the north on July 13 due to the "congestion and confusion" at that point. These transfers originally only applied to trains continuing in the same direction; by the 1920s, this transfer point had become very congested. A passageway inside fare control was opened on June 1, 1927 in the triangle bounded by 148th Street, Third Avenue, and Willis Avenue. The Third Avenue Line closed on April 28, 1973, ending the transfer.
The IRT Dyre Avenue Line opened on May 15, 1941. At first, it did not connect directly to the IRT White Plains Road Line, and a transfer passageway (used by the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway when the Dyre Avenue Line tracks were part of its operation) was placed inside fare control. A direct connection to the White Plains Road Line north of the station opened on May 6, 1957, and the old NYW&B station was closed.
Brooklyn
{| class="wikitable"
! width=15% | Station complex
! width=15% | Individual stations
! width=15% | Lines
! width=12% | Services
! width=43% | Notes
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| rowspan=2 |
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| IND Culver Line
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| rowspan=2 | A transfer between the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and IND Culver Line was added on May 28, 1959.
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| BMT Fourth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=3 | Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center
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| BMT Brighton Line
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| rowspan=3 | Passageways connect the BMT Fourth Avenue Line and BMT Brighton Line, with the IRT Eastern Parkway Line in the middle. The passageway between the Brighton and Eastern Parkway Lines was added on November 26, 1967, when the Chrystie Street Connection opened and most Brighton Line trains were sent to the IND Sixth Avenue Line. The transfer to the Fourth Avenue Line was added on January 16, 1978.
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| IRT Eastern Parkway Line
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| BMT Fourth Avenue Line
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| rowspan=3 | Broadway Junction
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| BMT Canarsie Line
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| rowspan=3 | The elevated BMT Jamaica Line and BMT Canarsie Line and underground IND Fulton Street Line are connected by passageways inside fare control. This was originally the site of a transfer station between the BMT Fulton Street Line and the other two lines, but the Fulton Street portion was removed as part of the Dual Contracts rebuilding. The passageway connecting to the IND Fulton Street Line was built and placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948. Transfers were made with paper transfer slips
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| IND Fulton Street Line
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| bgcolor="#BBBBBB" | Franklin Avenue
| BMT Fulton Street Line
| N/A
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| rowspan=2 |
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| BMT Franklin Avenue Line
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| rowspan=2 | A transfer passageway between the IRT Eastern Parkway Line and BMT Franklin Avenue Line was added on October 18, 1999, when the Franklin Avenue Line was reopened.
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| IND Fulton Street Line
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| BMT Fourth Avenue Line
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| rowspan="2" | /
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| IRT New Lots Line
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| rowspan="2" |A free out-of-system transfer on nights and weekends was introduced on April 26, 2019 as part of the L shutdown, and introduced permanently in February 2020. It is planned to convert an overpass running between the Junius Street and Livonia Avenue stations into a in-system transfer passage between them, due to increasing ridership and plans for additional housing in the area. In February 2020, the MTA awarded a design–build contract to construct the free transfer and associated elevator upgrades.
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| BMT Canarsie Line
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| rowspan=2 |
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| BMT Canarsie Line
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| rowspan=2 | A passageway between the BMT Canarsie Line and IND Crosstown Line was placed inside fare control on July 1, 1948.
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| Rockaway Parkway Line
| B42 bus
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| rowspan=2 |
| upper level
| BMT Brighton Line
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| rowspan=2 | Prior to the opening of the Culver Line in 1920, local Brighton Line trains used the lower level and express Brighton Line trains used the upper level. The transfer station commenced with the opening of the Culver Line on the lower level under the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (the predecessor to the BMT). Level usage varied over the years with different Brighton services using the lower level at different times. When the Culver Line passed from BMT to IND control in 1954, the transfer became inter-division. Shortly thereafter, the Brighton Line track connection to the lower level was severed, thereby allowing each line to have exclusive use of their own levels.
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| lower level
| IND Culver Line
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Former transfers
On October 30, 1954, a connection between the IND Brooklyn Line and the BMT Culver Line opened, and the Culver Line was transferred from BMT to IND control. Service through the new connection commenced, and the BMT Culver Shuttle was instituted between Ditmas Avenue and Ninth Avenue, making Ditmas Avenue an inter-division transfer station. When the BMT Culver Shuttle ceased on May 11, 1975, the station was left to be served by the IND Culver Line only.
On March 5, 1944, when the elevated BMT Myrtle Avenue Line was removed from the Brooklyn Bridge elevated tracks, and cut back from Park Row to Bridge–Jay Streets, a paper transfer was added at Bridge–Jay Streets to the Brooklyn Bridge trolley lines, specifically the Smith Street Line, DeKalb Avenue Line, and Seventh Avenue Line. Bridge trolleys were discontinued on March 6, 1950, and the transfer was replaced with one to the IND Sixth Avenue Line. Manhattan-bound passengers received a transfer when boarding the Myrtle Avenue Line west of Broadway, but Brooklyn-bound passengers could only get one when entering at Broadway – Nassau Street, near Park Row. In addition, similar trolley transfers were provided at High Street – Brooklyn Bridge, at the Brooklyn end of the bridge. The Myrtle Avenue Line west of Broadway closed on October 3, 1969, and the transfer was replaced with one to the B54 bus route, which ran under the line. The transfers at High Street – Brooklyn Bridge were discontinued at some point, but the B54 transfer remained for a long time.
When the Broadway Elevated spur to Broadway Ferry closed to passengers on July 2, 1916, a paper transfer was added to the Broadway Ferry Shuttle streetcar line. The shuttle was moved from Broadway Ferry to Lorimer Street when the BMT Canarsie Line opened through Williamsburg on June 30, 1924, and Broadway Line streetcars were rerouted to the ferry. Later the transfer was to the Meeker Avenue Line, now part of the B24 bus route.
thumb|right|Notice of free transfers at Rockaway Avenue
A paper transfer
The lower level, serving the Jamaica Line, opened in 1888. The station became a transfer station when the Myrtle Avenue Elevated platform on the upper level opened in 1889. When Myrtle Avenue Line service west of this station ended in 1969, the upper level was abandoned and all Myrtle Avenue Line trains from the east merged onto the Jamaica Line tracks.
Queens
{| class="wikitable"
! width=15% | Station complex
! width=15% | Individual stations
! width=15% | Lines
! width=12% | Services
! width=43% | Notes
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| rowspan=3 | Court Square–23rd Street
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| IND Queens Boulevard Line
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| rowspan=3 | An $8.5 million 350-foot (100 m) passageway connecting the IND Queens Boulevard Line with the IND Crosstown Line was built by Citicorp, who was building the Citicorp Building above. It opened in December 1988. A MetroCard transfer to the IRT Flushing Line was added on December 16, 2001, when the IND 63rd Street Line was completed and the G was cut back to Court Square during peak hours. This transfer was free for MetroCard users within two hours of the original boarding.
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| IRT Flushing Line
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| bgcolor="#BBBBBB" |
| IRT Second Avenue Line
| N/A
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| rowspan=2 |
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| IRT Flushing Line
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| rowspan=2 | The elevated IRT Flushing Line and underground IND Queens Boulevard Line are connected inside fare control in Jackson Heights. A paper transfer was added on July 1, 1948,