28th Street

28th Street sits under Broadway at the northern edge of the NoMad district, one of those Manhattan corners that has quietly reinvented itself from a wholesale flower and perfume trade into a strip of boutique hotels, rooftop bars and design showrooms. The N, Q, R and W trains stop here on the Broadway line, dropping you a couple of short blocks from Madison Square Park and the flag of the Flatiron Building to the south.

This is a working local station rather than a tourist landmark, which is part of its appeal. Office workers, hotel guests and residents of the surrounding brick lofts pass through all day, and the pace at the turnstiles never quite matches the crush you would find at Herald Square a few blocks north. If you are staying in a NoMad hotel or heading to the restaurants around Fifth Avenue and 28th, this is your stop.

Station Overview

28th Street opened in 1918 as part of the original Broadway subway and sits in the nominal Zone 1 used across our guides. It is served by four trains, the N, Q, R and W, all running along Broadway through Midtown. The station is step-free with elevator access, and offers toilets and staffed information as its main facilities.

Lines and Connectivity

The N and Q are the express-leaning pair on the Broadway line and carry you quickly south through Union Square to Lower Manhattan, or over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn toward Coney Island. The R and W run local, threading through Midtown to Times Square and up to Queens, with the W terminating in Astoria and the R continuing to Bay Ridge in southern Brooklyn. Between them these four trains put much of the city within a single ride.

Station Layout and Structure

This is an underground station with side platforms flanking the Broadway line tracks, one for uptown trains and one for downtown. Because the platforms are separated, check the overhead signs before you head down the stairs so you land on the correct side. Street stairs and elevator access open onto the corners around Broadway and 28th Street, close to Fifth Avenue.

Accessibility

28th Street is step-free. Elevators connect the street, the mezzanine and the platforms, and the fare gates include an accessible width gate. As always with the subway, it is worth checking the MTA elevator status the morning you travel, since equipment is occasionally taken out for maintenance.

Travel Tips

• Confirm you are on the uptown or downtown side before descending, as the two platforms are not linked once past the gates on some entrances.
• Pay with a single OMNY tap using your phone or contactless card, and the weekly fare cap kicks in automatically once you have made enough trips.
• For Madison Square Park and the Flatiron, walk south down Broadway rather than transferring, it is only a few minutes on foot.

Nearby Attractions

Madison Square Park - about 5 minutes on foot south. A leafy square with public art installations, the original Shake Shack kiosk and clear views of the surrounding early skyscrapers.

Flatiron Building - roughly 6 minutes south. The famously narrow 1902 triangular tower at the meeting of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, one of the most photographed buildings in the city.

NoMad dining and hotels - immediately around the station. The blocks along Broadway and Fifth in the high 20s are packed with acclaimed restaurants, cocktail bars and boutique stays.

Timings and Best Time to Travel

Trains here run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in line with the rest of the subway, though overnight service between roughly midnight and 5am is less frequent so allow for a longer wait. Weekday rush hours in the morning and late afternoon bring the busiest platforms. Late morning and early afternoon on weekdays are the calmest times to pass through.