At almost all times, the A is an express train. It runs 59th Street - 125 Street without any stops in between. When the train is in either of those stations, it will be on the express side of the platform and the conductor will announce the next stop; you also can always ask another passenger!

Just switch to the B or C local at either of the aforementioned stations to reach stops in between. And when you're getting on the train at 72nd Street, hop whichever arrives in the station first! (Both the A and C stop at 168th Street, and you can switch from the B to the other at 125th.)

Nights are typically considered to be from 10pm on, but I don't remember offhand at what time they end. Of course this info used to be listed on the MTA website, but it seems to have disappeared in the site redesign...

The A usually runs express and does not stop at 72nd during most hours. The B and C regularly stop there, so just transfer from the A to the B or C at the 59th street station.

Looking at the schedule the A would stop at 72nd after 10 PM and stop around 5 AM. But you can ask the conductor or just take the B or C.

GGreen, it looks like you copied from my test!!

Hmm, Adu, I think maybe you copied from mine, since mine has many more words than yours (and covers both uptown and downtown scenarios)!

Then again, maybe you're right: you knew the answer for when Night hours end...

Thanks for your help so far, no matter who's copying from each other, I appreciate it.

Now moving on with my questions for your next test....

Looking at the 1 train, it appears that there may be an express from 72nd to 168th (seeing those white express circles) Yes, that is my route, so just need to know the uptown part.

Ggreen, I am a minimalist.

The 1, 2, and 3 trains all stop at 72nd. It is a crowded major stop. The 1 train is a local. The A will run express to 168 when it is an express.

"Looking at the 1 train, it appears that there may be an express from 72nd to 168th (seeing those white express circles) Yes, that is my route, so just need to know the uptown part."

White circles mean (from the subway map) "All trains stop (local and express service)" not just express trains.

I am not sure what you are looking at but on the subway map the circles for the 1 (with the exception of 72nd, 96th, and 168th Sts) are black circles meaning the 1 is a local.

On the MTA subway map, the white circles indicate stations where both express and local trains on the same line will stop. Black dots are local-only stops. So the 168 station is a white circle on the map because both the A express and C local stop there. The only train on the "red" line that stops there is the 1, which is local from beginning to end.

You'll also notice that there is a blue square C at the 168 stop. That indicates that 168th Street is the terminus for the C train. This means that there should almost always be a train in the station: you can look for the "next train" indicator on the platform, then go sit in the car until departure - or until the A express pulls through if that works for you!

You can always look for the car with the conductor in the middle of the train. On the platform, there should be an overhead yellow "box" suggesting the off-hours area to wait; this coincides with the conductor's car once the train pulls in. Being in the same car as the conductor is always a good idea if you feel a little unsure!

// As for Adu and me, it's all in good fun. He started and I contributed to a partly tongue-in-cheek post on subway etiquette:
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/rules-of-the-subway-nyc.cfm

You are talking "my" part of town and yes the subway can be a bit difficult to figure out, but once you actually start to use it....no problem.

Ok the 1,2,3 trains are west side trains that go up broadway. At 96th St the 2 and the 3 the express trains actually head easterly so if you want to go further uptown on Broadway you have to take the #1.

The A/B/C/D run up Central Park West. The A/D are the express trains the B/C are local trains.

I love the A/D because they stop at 34th, 42nd, 59th and then 125th and my stop is 145th.

Hope this helps a bit.