New Yorkers Just Ranked the Best and Worst Subway Lines—and These 2 Trains Came Out on Top

New Yorkers have officially named their favorite subway lines , and the winners may come as a surprise. The latest biannual Customers Count Survey by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which included feedback from 93,998 customers collected from April 13 through May 2, 2026, revealed that the 7 and L were the most highly rated lines, with 72 percent of respondents indicating they were satisfied with their service. 

Both lines run crosstown through Manhattan and into surrounding boroughs. The 7 train runs from 34th Street at Hudson Yards in Manhattan to Flushing-Main Street in Queens, while the L train runs from the 8th Avenue in Manhattan to Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn.

Both lines were the first to be updated with communications-based train control (CBTC) signaling technology , a modernized signaling system that uses wireless connectivity to keep trains in constant contact with a centralized system that controls their movement. The MTA said the technology, which "drastically improves the reliability of subway service," is also being installed on the 8th Avenue sections of the A, C, and E lines between Manhattan's 59th Street and Brooklyn's High Street; the Queens Boulevard corridor on the E, F, M, and R; the Culver section of the F; and the crosstown part of the G between Court Square in Queens and Church Avenue in Brooklyn.

The 7 and L aren't the only train lines that New Yorkers favor. The S shuttle line, carrying passengers back and forth between Times Square and Grand Central—though not a full line—received the highest satisfaction rating of 88 percent. 

4 Biggest Mistakes Tourists Make on the NYC Subway

The Staten Island Railway (SIR) also received stellar feedback, serving the southernmost borough with an 80 percent satisfaction rate. Both the G line (which upgraded to new subway cars in 2025) and the Q scored 70 percent satisfaction, while the 1, C, and R were just a couple of percentage points behind. 

At the bottom of the rankings, satisfaction was still rather positive. The 5 and D lines came in last, both with 59 percent satisfaction, while the W had 60 percent. 

Overall, spring 2026 had the highest subway rider satisfaction since these surveys started in spring 2022, with 63 percent positive feedback, compared to 48 percent that first spring. 

"It's rewarding to see more riders feeling the benefits of better service quality and reliability—areas where we've made significant investments to improve the customer experience on subways and buses," Demetrius Crichlow, NYC Transit president, said in a statement, adding that the "service enhancements are making a meaningful difference and that the customers are taking notice."

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure