Hmm, when they say "All N trains are running express between Astoria Blvd and Queensboro Plaza", that means that the trains stop at Astoria Blvd, skip all other stops, and go straight to Queensborog Plaza. But this is the MTA we're talking about, so who knows if they always use the word the same way.

the 2 should be running to Atlantic. It's exclusive, i think.

This has gotten me so confused that I've posted an AskMe question about the meaning of the word "between."

i just saw that - the meaning is contextual. The answer that shows the different meanings for different situations is the correct "answer" I believe.

On the London Underground, where there are suspensions, they usually say "trains are not running between (say) Liverpool Street and Leytonstone. What this means is that I can get to either Liverpool Street going eastbound or Leytonstone going westbound, but not the stations in between.

But what is important is this, and I don't know if it also applies to the NY system:

Some underground stations have only two platforms (one for trains into London and one for trains out) but others, such as Leytonstone, have three or more platforms, so there's space for them to 'store' trains that aren't going any further down the line and to run a shuttle between stations farther up the line.

Does that help in determining whether or not the trains might be running to Atlantic?

Given all the feedback (on AskMe), I'm fairly sure they meant that you can get to Atlantic or Penn, but not to stations between them.

On the other hand, given that the MTA sucks at communication, I wouldn't be at all surprised if I tried to get to Atlantic and couldn't.

It's all good now, because the 2 line is up again. But the funny thing about this confusion is that it kept my wife from getting to work today. She hurt her foot last week and has to walk with a cane for the next couple of weeks. She wasn't about the trudge all the way to the subway station given a 50/50 chance that we'd interpreted "between" to our favor. Had the MTA just added one more word ("inclusive" or "exclusive"), it would have settled the matter.

Dork alert: Look at the Track map. There's no way for trains from the east to get from the eastbound to westbound track without first going through Atlantic Avenue.

(this is the same reason that the Central Line is always suspended at Leytonstone - there are no crossovers in the tunnels between there and Liverpool St)