The 7 train is nicknamed the “International Express” because it travels through the diverse Queens neighborhoods along Roosevelt Avenue.
The route runs between 34th Street–Hudson Yards in Manhattan and Flushing–Main Street in Queens. Its eastern section passes through neighborhoods associated with immigrant communities from Latin America and Asia, including Jackson Heights, Corona, and Flushing. The nickname became especially associated with the line during the 1990s.
The 7 service uses the Flushing Line, whose original eastern terminal was opened in stages during the early twentieth century. The line was extended to 34th Street–Hudson Yards in 2015, giving the service a major Manhattan stop near the Hudson Yards development. “International Express” is a nickname, not the route’s official designation: subway maps and announcements identify it by the number 7, with a diamond symbol used for express service during appropriate operating periods.