Whenever (W subway line)

The W train has been called the “Whenever” train because service has not been frequent. The W train has received the poorest grades of any subway line and also has another unfortunate nickname—“Worst.”
 
Other subway nicknames include “never” and “rarely” for the N and R trains.
       
     
Wikipedia: W (New York City Subway service)
The W Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign (either on the front and/or side - depending on equipment used) and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through midtown Manhattan. Service runs local from Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard to Whitehall Street, and only from 06:00 to 21:50 on weekdays. Sporadic service is also provided to and from Kings Highway via the BMT Sea Beach Line at the extreme ends of service hours, as trains enter and leave the Coney Island Complex.           
 
Gothamist
July 21, 2004
Straphangers’ Subway Report Card, 2004
It’s that time again: The Straphangers have released their State of the Subways report card again, and they say the report card “paints a positive picture of the subways.” This year, the 6 train gets top honors, followed by the 7, D, E and 4. The worst line is the N, along with the A, R, W, and C - ah, it figures for the Never/Rarely/Whenever line!
 
Gothamist
September 27, 2004
N Train Means No Luck
It’s bad enough that the N train gets a bad rap with its slow service (it’s the “Never” train, whereas the R is the “Rarely”...the W is “Whenever” and perhaps the Q is “Quixotic”), but this weekend has been no good. 
 
Washington Heights & Inwood Online
Kim
Re: Why Inwood or Hudson Heights (versus other neighborhoods in NYC)
Reply #15 on: 05/20/05, 11:12
The N, R and W lines are some of the most frustrating of my experience.  One Astoria resident nicknamed those lines:  N = Never; R=Rarely; and W=Whenever.
 
Gothamist
February 8, 2006
W Is for Worst
And all along we thought W meant “Whenever Train”! The Straphanger Campaign released a survey of subway car announcements and found that the W train was the worst when it came to announcements, deteriorating having 69% adequate announcements in 2004 to only 58% last year. While the subway system overall seemed to improve (from 73% to 77% in 2005), there are still problems, like this:...
 
MySpace.com - Train Group 
janelle
Posted: Oct 17, 2006 5:34 AM
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…
R= RARELY
N= NEVER
W= WHENEVER  
   
Gothamist
February 8, 2007
Never and Whenever Train Riders, Brace Yourself