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Is your B train commute feeling extra stressful these days? Congratulations: the data agrees with you.
For the second year in a row, the B has claimed the unenviable crown as New York City’s most delayed subway line, according to an analysis by the New York Post using official MTA performance data. In 2025, the line arrived late up to 26 percent of the time, meaning more than one in four B train trips missed their scheduled arrival window.
The Post’s analysis is based on the MTA’s “customer journey time performance” metric, which measures whether riders complete trips on time, or within five minutes of schedule, between 6am and 11pm on weekdays. By that standard, the B lagged behind every other full-length subway line in the system over the past year.
However, “most delayed” doesn’t mean the B is collapsing entirely. Its average on-time rate in 2025 improved to about 78.5 percent, up significantly from its truly grim 2024 performance, when it hovered closer to 65 percent. It is progress, just not enough to escape last place.
The reasons will sound painfully familiar to anyone who rides it regularly. The B shares tracks with multiple other lines through Manhattan, creating bottlenecks at some of the system’s busiest junctions. Much of its route still relies on aging signals. And like many lines, it’s operating with older subway cars that are increasingly prone to mechanical issues.
The B isn’t alone in the struggle. The D, Q, M and F also posted 12-month on-time averages below 82 percent, placing them in the system’s “problematic” tier. Still, none managed to dethrone the B at the bottom. Meanwhile, the L train continues to live in a different reality entirely. Thanks to newer cars and modern signals, it arrived on time more than 90 percent of the time in 2025, making it the most reliable full-length line in the system.
The MTA has pointed to overall improvements systemwide, noting that delays are down compared to both last year and pre-pandemic levels. But State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has warned that subway car failures are now the fastest-growing cause of major incidents and has urged the agency to prioritize equipment and signal upgrades.
For now, though, the verdict is in: once again, the B train is officially the city’s most reliable way to be late.