If I could give this damn worthless train a negative star, believe me I would. By far the worst train on the planet!! No matter what day or time, this train forever has problems! either its track issues, or door jams, or delays for no reason at all, train traffic, even though for the past 30mins no trains have gone by. its just never ending. not to mention how infrequently it runs. this trains covers massive neighborhoods, so you would think it would run more often, but NOPE. every 10-15mins during rush hour! that's absurd! at nite...forget about it, just stops running all together and the wknds, expect to wait half the time on the platform. if i knew before hand how atrocious the R train is, i would never have moved near it. i'm seriously considering moving to another train line because the daily headache is becoming too much. I HATE THE R TRAIN!!! MAY YOU DIE AND BE REPLACED WITH A FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT TRAIN! read more

THE R TRAIN is my Tortoise. It's the slowest train in the City but it reliable. When R train hits Manhattan and Queens, it's ALL local, which means it's exceptionally slow. I honestly love this train, I remember it taught me the letter R back in Kindergarten. =) This train is safe at both morning and night since it stops near good neighborhoods. It's just as filthy as any other trains, but hey, it gets you to places. Try it out, it's great read more

I want to like you so much, R train. I really do. But every time I've tried to catch you on time you're always too early or too late. Never mind the fact that you tend to get all the street performers on your train when you get into Manhattan. Your air conditioning is spotty at best, but I've wisened up about your cold spots. Sigh. Will you take me into the city again? read more

The R train is the train I use the most. I am lucky that I don't have to use it in the rush hour! It doesn't go as often as the N, 4, 5 or 6 train. And it stops running around 11:45 pm until 5 am. That sucks! I liked the old R train better. It had a lot more seats! read more

My return trip to NYC and this line was my go to train. Got me to where I wanted to be. Had a car to ourselves and let loose. It's still a jerky abrupt start which always makes me giggle. Then it smoothes out. Had to get to Times Square and caught a little crowd but it wasn't to packed. People were chill compared to some other lines I've been on. Not having to drive for a week and take the subway for a small fee in a walkable city is Bombay baby! Love that and this city read more

I've been on the R train a few times, but mostly by accident when I'm actually waiting for the Q or N train and not paying attention and just get on whatever train is coming, because I'm not patient enough to wait any longer. The train is old and a bit dirty. Some of the people on the train are kind of semi-dodgy. If I ever would want to torture someone I would probably let them transcribe the announcements from the guy operationg the train. Does anyone actually ever hear what they're blasting? They could just as well be announcing that the donuts are closing and that the next stop is a bagel, I wouldn't be able to hear the difference. This is not a very good train. I think the 7-train and the R-train have the same parents. read more

Usually only on this one for short distances, thank God. It takes ages to show up & the trip on it feels arduous.

Stay away - this is the "Most Local" of "Local Trains" - Takes forever to get to the City. Prefer the E or F any day of the week. Trains are often old and dirty. read more

Never will I EVER take this train again. Just like what everyone else said... takes forever to get to the station and when it does its stuffed like a can of sardines (i've noticed lately, however, it's not so packed - I guess people are catching on). And then when you get on the train it moves one inch per hour. Seriously MTA step your game up yo! read more

This train is fucking disgusting!!!!!!! When I took the Manhattan and Brooklyn bound R, I just rarely saw a dead roach on the floor, no joke!!!!. It was on the floor where I sat and I have to sit at another place, but how can a roach appears in the train? Is it because of food remains or snack wrappers from the floor? I don't know how that nasty creature shows up out of nowhere. I want to rate this as a -5 instead of a one star because the R train is the nastiest train in the whole MTA system compare to the L. read more

The R Train - R for Roach :p - Public Transportation Near Me

Horrendous!!! Terrible!!!!! By far one of the worst subway lines! So I commute from Staten Island and have to commute up town and unlucky this is the line that runs closest to my job. This train takes forever to come and when it finally does come it moves as slow as snail, the amount of times I have missed the Staten Island Ferry is countless. For those who are unfamiliar with the SI Ferry missing it at night my 4 minutes means you have to wait another 56 minutes for the next one to come. My advice to you is take it if you must, but you have the option of taking the 1 4 or 5 to or from the SI Ferry do it. I would have given one star but it gets me to where I have to go so it earned two. But this train line continues to digress. read more

Your Good Ol' Local Train Overall: 2.75 Stars While it isn't the most reliable train (more reliable than most trains), it is one of the less crowded trains. If the R train arrives close to your destination similar to the express trains I recommend taking the R train since the odds of getting a seat a far greater. However, it will take 5-10 minutes longer depending on where you get on in Queens (uncertain about Brooklyn since Queens is the best borough [I'm ready for the hat e mail]). The cleanliness is lacking on these trains, mainly because they consist of older train models (Old F Trains). It is uncommon for the so-called "entertainers" to perform on the R train, which is a major plus. read more

The R Train, where confusion reigns on a grand scale. Maybe it's just from a small sample, but it seems every time I'm on it, either it's re-routed entirely, or the electronic map thingie is so far out of whack it thinks I'm in the middle of Brooklyn heading East instead of in Lower Manhattan heading North. I missed one just after 6:00 tonight, and waited long enough for the next one I felt compelled to take about 3 dozen pictures of myself reflected in the black glass of an un-used map display in City Hall Station. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ read more

Took the R train today, no problems Saturday noontime going into Manhattan. No re-routing this weekend, even on the way back the wait wasn't too long, maybe 15 minutes wait at 34th St. The aroma in the subway on this freezing cold day was Homeless Bouquet, a pungent combination of baby powder, cheap whiskey, human excreta and several flavors of car air freshener. read more

ETERNAL DAMNATION @ YOU R TRAIN. Not only did I have to wait for about 25-40 minutes for the R train (just because it was the only train available to me), it is ALWAYS crowded and takes its leisurely time stopping where it's not needed. You'd think that Canal St. would be the perfect last stop before Brooklyn but, alas you must go through: City Hall, Rector St and Whitehall before you make it to Brooklyn. What's with the two streets apart stops? As if you went any further down Manhattan you'd be drowning yourself. It sucks, plain as that. I could walk to Brooklyn faster than getting on the R train (which I did on 8th St and it STILL took me nearly 30 minutes to get to Court St.) read more

Wow nothing surprises me anymore so the R train should stand for, (R)eally - You are not operating for a year from Brooklyn to Manhattan (R)ising Costs - Equals less service (R)eliable - A word that should never be associated with this line. (R)elentless - A word that should be associated with the relentless lies being told by the MTA. (R)isk - Sometimes your choices should be made to never risk taking this line. (R)eebok - You would be better off walking with a pair of these than the service on this train. (R)emoval - Well they removed the graffiti in the 80's but what else has changed?? (R)emedy - Get rid of the Board of Directors and spend that money more wisely on upgrading service on this line. We are talking millions being spent on these baboons. read more

The R train's not running. Again. This time it's a Saturday night. The R should be running on weekends at this time, but it isn't. There weren't any "planned service changes." Don't bother checking subway schedules because the train doesn't follow them. It's as if the MTA has given up on keeping the R in service on weekends. read more

Look, is the R train great? No. The R train is a nightmare. It's often delayed. It runs painfully slow in Manhattan (and I don't mean because it's local - the train is constantly stopping in the tunnel or creeping along inch by painful inch as you stare at your phone thinking "Goddamnit, this should have been enough time"). Its transfers are, by and large, inconvenient. But it's a little better than many of the alternatives, which says something truly terrifying about the state of the MTA. High school!me would never have believed the R becoming an actual option because other trains had deteriorated so much, but that's the world we're living in. Don't think of this as three stars. Think of it as grading on a curve. read more

Oh R train, I have a love/hate relationship with you. It's okay that I have to watch several shiny new N/W trains roll past me blasting me with cool AC air before you come chugging in sweaty and old at the 59th Street Station, you give me a chance to bust out my football moves as I hustle past a horde of people to get a seat. Why three stars then? You are right up the street from my house! And even though it says G, V, and R. I'm sure that's a typo because I see you often and if I had not witnessed a V at my stop on occasion, I'd be sure the MTA was lying to me. And I'm pretty sure the G train stopping anywhere above Court Sq is a myth. read more

Worst train ever. Despite the fact that it passes though very populated areas, it only comes once in a blue moon. It makes it impossible to take advantage of any express train because you spend so long waiting for it. I can walk to Atlantic-Pacific in the time it takes this stupid train to come. I'm just going to take the F. It's faster than waiting five eons to take the R to an express stop. read more

sucks slow might as well walk. currently waiting for r train was told it would be arriving. it did not. nvm it's here

Wow I can't believe how bad the R train line has become over the years specifically the past 10 years. Trains are very dirty and train seem always to be off schedule and be collecting a lot of people on each platform due to late arrivals this has really become a nightmare of a commute on the R-line and needs to be fixed. read more

Possibly the worst train in the system .. LONG wait times and it seems they're cutting down on service . If you live in bay ridge it could take almost an hour just to get to the first stop in manhattan read more

R train, you are the bane of my existence. I can't live with you, nor can I live without you. You are the only train within in a three mile distance of my apartment. You run so slowly, turn into a shuttle after 11 at night and have wacky rerouted service on weekends, but where would we be without each other? I would be either stuck at home or taking your pal, the evil X37 express bus to work and having to listen to countless cell phone conversations that start with, "Not for nuthin', but..." You, R train, would miss me and my cute button nose. I have never scratchitti-ed your windows, spilled coffee or your floors, or left copies of AM New York on your seats. Couldn't you just once get me to work in less than an hour? Thanks. read more

Goddamn you R train, you made me so late to my piano lesson that I just skipped it entirely. 40mins late to an hour lesson is just too late to even bother. I waited for you for 20 MINUTES. Maybe 25! So mad...... I wanted to pull my pants down and moon the asshole driving you as you sputtered along the track, but then I would've been even later. Fucking hate. read more

The only thing this train is consistent about are lateness and delays. This train is slow as it is but add on delays...and we have a winner for worst train. The mta execs should ride this train to work and let them see how the trains suck. Ever since the hurricane, this train has gone from bad to worst. This is the only train around where I live and the closest train to my work. I would avoid this train like you owe it money. Update: 11/13 After Hurricane Sandy the best just got better. You think this train can't get any worse, think again. It never to disappoints you when it comes to disappointment. You think it was slow before, try the new and improved slowness. Use to wait about 10 minutes between trains, now expect 20-30 (during rush hour) minutes per train and packed. That's just the beginning, the great improvements keep coming. I recommend have a few books or some form of entertainment handy while you are waiting and even after you are on this train. After you get on the train, it crawls to the next station at break necks speeds of a snail. You can actually walk to the next station faster sometimes. I take the brooklyn section and it does not cross to manhattan during weekdays. You expect the trains to be faster. Nope, think again. What we know as common sense or logic does not apply here. Lower your expectations and get ready to be disappointed still. This train is going for the top spot of being the worst and beyond. The management or lack of management of this line is mind boggling. The only upside to this is I hardly hear the "We are being delayed because of train traffic ahead of us". We all know these are lies because we just waited 10-15 minutes for the train and we just got on. But still hear the occasional "The train is being held in the station by the dispatcher." Update: 7/15 The trains are back running fully for sometime. It is worst than ever. I thought it was suppose to do repairs, not damages. If you take this train, you think they were letting gremlins out to cause chaos on the trains. More delays and more problems after going back to Manhattan. Alot more of Dispatcher delays. I have experience 3 delays that defy rationale. The train is apparently so far ahead of the rest of the trains that we must stop for 20-30 mins for those said trains to catch up. Let that sink in. They delay us 20-30 mins because it was ahead. Instead of getting other trains to speed up, why not delay the faster train. Don't trust the website for info. It is not accurate at all. Delays does not show up. I really think is the MTA runned by special people. read more

Really don't like this train....it's the oldest train in the subway system and usually have bad smell and gotta wait for a long time at night and on weekends... read more

Once this line has the times announced on it, it will be much easier to cope with. Until then, we're stuck with this clunky, shows up whenever it wants to piece of trash. read more

The R train is a local train. It's not supposed to be fast, or go express. I take it during rush hour so I can get a seat, and read a book. I time my commute so I can get to work on time and not be bothered by all the rush hour crowds. Honestly, it runs on time. Only reason why it doesnt run on time is because someone gets sick and delays the train (usually). Not a great train for getting home late at night, because it slows down and become a shuttle train to Bay Ridge, but it does what it's supposed to do during the week. For a local train running in a major metrpolis it runs on time and is consistent. I like the older trains because there are more seats. Screw the new trains. There are less seats and the MTA hopes that we all cram together like a bunch of sardines in a tin can. Eff that. read more

The third rail is one of those great American institutions. Call it a forbidden fruit or whatever, but most straphangers are transfixed by its deathly power. It can fry anything. Including people. Years ago. Christ, this is almost thirty years ago now, I owned a restaurant called "The Electric Rot Pot." It was your typical dive bar. Average food, below average clientele yet above average waitresses. They kept the folks coming back. And coming back. You could get your mozz sticks, potato skins, chicken fingers with one major distinction - mine were the only actual fingers of a chicken in the tri-state area. I knew this guy out in Long Island named Izzy Fendelbaum. He raised these chickens with digits that would frighten ET himself. They were amazingly tender. That's what we did best. All the food was cooked using the third rail. I'd bring frozen containers of chicken down to the subway and using a recipe of my grandmother's. Fry up those babes until they were nice and subway crispy. It was my little secret. Not even the girls working for me knew the truth about the food. This was the 70s. Things were different. Ed Koch was a new sheriff and began shutting down the old joints. Including my place. The City cited some arcane health code violation. They also claimed I was in arrears. It was all total garbage. I knew my food was the best. The taste on that chicken. You couldn't get that from anywhere but a subway tunnel. And they knew that. On my way home I took the R train. There was a delay at Queens Plaza. I sat there with a duffel bag of raw chicken and all the time in the world. I decided to cook. It was late. I got my recipe out and fried them on the third rail. One last time. I even had toasted a baguette from earlier in the day. Boy oh boy was that tremendous. I've never looked back. Sometimes i still catch myself on the subway platform. Recalling my days in the restaurant business. Thinking about the third rail. Dreaming of chicken. read more

I hate the R train. Service is always terrible, there are huge gaps in between trains, and the R46 cars are falling apart. Sometimes the train comes quickly behind another, most other times it doesn't. The train never seems to reach a quick speed, but more like a slow crawl from station to station. The R needs the R211 train cars as soon as humanely possibly. Get to work Kawasaki read more

Doesn't go to lower Manhattan currently so you'll have to transfer at Canal street. This train is local in all the boroughs it passes through. Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. I uses to take this train to my former job in Park Slope. Took so long to come. I loved when the M train passed through in 2010...ugh. But anyway, I used to take this train to Rector street to get to my high school. read more

Well I thought the L train was a long ride into Brooklyn, but this one feels like taking the Metro North to Connecticut minus the cushioned seats. It's exceptionally slow on any given day because it makes a gazillion stops in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. The worst part is waiting for an R to come because it does not run as frequent as the other yellow lines. The train itself usually comes in the yellow and orange colored seats and it hasn't changed for the past eons. Cleanliness? Well it's NYC subway so it's never clean, but just be glad you don't see human feces lying around. read more

It's really not that bad. It arrives on time every morning, it gets me home approximately the same time every night, and it doesn't get NEARLY as packed as the Q, B, N, D, 4, 5, 6, A, C, E. Even the conductors tell people to have a nice day over the loudspeaker, wow. read more

One of the worst trains I have ever taken in my life. During RUSH hours back in 2008 I waited over 30 minutes for that train. One W train and THREE N trains passed by before an R train could come. I don't take it often now but when I do, I have long waits ahead of me sometimes. In the end, it does get me to where I need to go. read more

i have been living in Astoria taking R train for about 12 years, I have to say 2021 has been the year of the worst service, it takes 10/15 mins between runs, several days getting to work late because of this line! read more

Can't say I'm shocked at the rating the R Train has. DO NOT DO. Namely if you're taking this to get to the Staten Island Ferry - this damn train always makes people miss the ferry! The train will usually get to Whitehall barely 2 minutes before the ferry leaves - just enough time to give the people who need to catch it enough hope to run for it (evil). But they never make it; there's too many escalators and doors in the way, so they always JUST miss the ferry. ("They" has been me a number of times). You'd have way better odds taking the 1. Or even freaking walking there. Damn this train. Oh, and whoever drew the penis drawing i've sat next to the last few train rides... just... no words. And the same sentiment to the man who was sitting across from me that one day, openly rolling a blunt. And why is there always trash or a puddle in the seat I want to sit in? ... I mean really, the cast of characters on this train is comparable to the 4 and 6 trains. Worse I'd say. At least the 4 and the 6 are faster than the R and cleaner. This train is heinous. read more

There comes a time in life where this train feels like it's taking forever to come, and that's what we call the "R" train. The "R" train is literally one of the worst subway lines in NYC. The wait time for this train can be pretty long depending on the time of day your using it, especially in Brooklyn since it's the only local subway line that runs besides the "D" & "N" in Brooklyn. There use to be a second local train that ran with the "R" in Brooklyn known as the "M" which helped the "R" in Brooklyn and the former subway line known as the "W" which helped the "R"in Manhattan. But because of the MTA's budget issues, the "W" was cut, the "M" was moved to replace a former subway line called the "V" and pretty much the "R" stayed the same while the "N" replaced the "W". So to sum things up: the "R" sucks lol. read more

Today I saw 4 bay ridge bound trains pass me at rush hour while it took over 15 minutes for one Manhattan bound R to arrive, packed almost completely and this is only at 53rd street. So many problems, so unreliable. How about we focus on getting more trains to run instead of the possibility of closing down our busy station for 6 months to make it look nicer? read more

Not much to say beacuse it is the slowest train in the WORLD ... you might hit your riterment before the train comes :(