The New York City Subway service designated by the letter “A” is the A train, officially known as the Eighth Avenue Express.
The A is an IND Division service running from Inwood–207th Street in Manhattan toward Queens, with branches serving Far Rockaway, Lefferts Boulevard, and, during selected rush-hour trips, Rockaway Park. Its blue route bullet reflects its association with the IND Eighth Avenue Line.
During daytime service, the A runs express through much of Manhattan and Brooklyn while making local stops in Queens. Overnight, it operates as a local service along the full route to Far Rockaway, while a separate shuttle serves Lefferts Boulevard. These changing patterns can make the route seem less straightforward than its single-letter designation suggests.
The A train is also famous outside transit maps. Billy Strayhorn’s jazz standard “Take the ‘A’ Train,” popularized by Duke Ellington, refers to this service. It is commonly confused with the C train, which shares much of the Eighth Avenue corridor but generally runs locally.