Major Weekend Subway Delays to Continue
Expect another weekend of delays, diversions, backtracking and shuttle buses if you're taking the subway. New York City Transit says 16 of the 19 weekend lines will be disrupted as contractors rush to complete construction work.
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The inconvenience won't be as great as last weekend, when all but one line was disrupted. But it will still be heavy. Shuttle buses will replace parts of three different lines: the No. 1, the L and the A. Changes in other places will be less severe: express trains may run local, or local trains will skip certain stops in one direction.
The head of New York City Transit, Tom Prendergast, says he apologizes to passengers. “We sincerely feel for them in terms of the impact, but I must say the work has to go on, because if we were to put off the work, the pain they would feel down the road would be even greater,” Prendergast says.
Officials at the MTA have considered shutting down entire subway lines in the future to make it easier — and therefore cheaper — for contractors to get their work done. But Prendergast says the service changes over the past two weekends are not a result of any policy change. Construction work bunches up in the fall, he says, when contractors are trying to finish as much as possible before the holiday season, when little to no diversions are permitted.
“There's what we call the Christmas moratorium, which is from Thanksgiving through Christmas and the peak summer months are not conducive to doing the work as well,” Prendergast says. “So in the fall and the spring of the year, we find ourselves in case where we have a lot of work going on on weekends, have partial lines shutdowns and we're trying to get as much work done as possible.”
New York City Transit used to have a goal that a rider experience only one diversion during a round trip. Prendergast says that’s still the goal, but it probably slipped last weekend and will again this Saturday and Sunday.
The disruptions this weekend are all part of the MTA's ongoing $11.2 billion Capital Rebuilding Program. There are a variety of projects, including a major overhaul of the Fulton Street underground complex, an effort to fill the gaps at the Union Square platform, and station renovations on the B and Q lines in Brooklyn.
Here’s the transit agency’s list of service changes this weekend:
Weekend disruptions on the: No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, C, D, E, L, N, Q, R, S lines
No. 1, 2, 3 lines:
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, No. 1 service is suspended between 242nd Street and 168th Street due to rehab work between 242nd Street and Dyckman Street stations and is also suspended between Chambers Street and South Ferry due to Port Authority work at the WTC site. The No. 2, 3 and A trains, free shuttle buses and the M3 bus provide alternate service. Free shuttle buses run in three sections:
- On Broadway between 242nd Street and 215th Street stations, then connecting to the 207th Street A station.
- On St. Nicholas Avenue between 191st and 168th Street stations.
- In lower Manhattan between Chambers Street and South Ferry.
No. 1 trains run local between 168th Street and 34th Street then express between 34th Street and 14th Street where it terminates. 2 and 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street.
No. 2 trains
From 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, Bronx-bound No. 2 trains skip 219th, 225th, 233rd Streets and Nereid Avenue due to elevated structure painting.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, No. 2 trains run local between Chambers Street and 96th Street due to rehab work at between Dyckman Street and 242nd Street stations, track work at Franklin Street and Port Authority work at the WTC site.
No. 3 trains
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, 3 trains run local between Chambers Street to 96th Street due to rehab work at between Dyckman Street and 242nd Street stations, track work at Franklin Street and Port Authority work at the WTC site.
No. 4 trains
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, Manhattan-bound No. 4 trains run local from Utica to Atlantic Avenues due to third rail work between Utica and Atlantic Avenues.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, downtown No. 4 trains run local from 42nd Street-Grand Central to Brooklyn Bridge due to gap filler work at 14th Street.
No. 5 trains From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, downtown No. 5 trains run local from 42nd Street-Grand Central to Brooklyn Bridge due to gap filler work at 14th Street.
No. 6 trains
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 3, the last stop for some Pelham Park-bound 6 trains is 3rd Avenue due to track panel installation at Westchester Square.
At all times until October 11, Manhattan-bound 6 trains skip Parkchester due to station rehabilitation.
No. 7 trains
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th, and 82nd Streets due to elevated structure painting.
A trains
From 10:30 p.m. Friday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, free shuttle buses replace A trains between Far Rockaway and Beach 98th Street due to station rehabs. (A trains replace the Rockaway S shuttle between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park.)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, downtown A trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Spring Streets due to track replacement at 42nd Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, there is no A train service at Broadway-Nassau/Fulton Street in either direction due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center.
C trains
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, there is no C train service at Broadway-Nassau/Fulton Street in either direction due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, downtown C trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Spring Streets due to track replacement at 42nd Street.
D trains
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, Coney Island-bound D trains run on the N line from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to structural repair and station rehabs from 71st Street to Bay 50th Street and ADA work at Bay Parkway.
E trains
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, downtown E trains skip 23rd and Spring Streets due to track replacement at 42nd Street.
From 12:01 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturday, October 2, Manhattan-bound E trains skip 67th Avenue, 63rd Drive, Woodhaven Blvd., Grand Avenue and Elmhurst Avenue due to sub-station cable work at Grand Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. to 12 noon, Sunday, October 3, Queens-bound E trains skip Elmhurst and Grand Avenues, Woodhaven Blvd., 63rd Drive and 67th Avenue due to sub-station cable work at Grand Avenue.
L trains
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, free shuttle buses replace L trains between Lorimer Street and Myrtle Avenue due to CBTC signal work.
N trains
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, Brooklyn-bound N trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to work at Cortlandt Street. (No trains at City Hall, Rector, Whitehall, Court, or Lawrence Street stations. Customers may use nearby 4 stations instead.)
Q trains
From 10 p.m. Friday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday October 4, Coney Island-bound Q trains skip Avenue J due to station rehab work.
At all times until October 25, 2010, the Manhattan-bound Q platforms at Neck Road and Avenue U stations are closed for rehabilitation.
At all times until December 2010, the Manhattan-bound Q platforms at Avenue M and Avenue H stations are closed for rehabilitation.
R trains
From 6:30 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday, October 2, Manhattan-bound R trains skip 67th Avenue, 63rd Drive, Woodhaven Blvd., Grand Avenue and Elmhurst Avenue due to sub-station cable work at Grand Avenue.
From 6:30 a.m. to 12 noon, Sunday, October 3, Queens-bound R trains skip Elmhurst Avenue, Grand Avenue, Woodhaven Blvd., 63rd Drive and 67th Avenue due to sub-station work at Grand Avenue.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3, Brooklyn-bound R trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to work at Cortlandt Street. (No trains at City Hall, Rector, Whitehall, Court, or Lawrence Street stations. Customers may use nearby 4 stations instead.)
S (Rockaway Park Shuttle)
From 11 p.m. Friday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 4, A trains replace S shuttle service between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park due to station rehabs.
At all times until early 2011, Rockaway Park-bound trains skip Beach 90th and Beach 105th stations due to station rehabs.
Customers who rely on these lines should allow for additional travel time. For further information, customers should consult the Weekend Service Change notices posted in subway stations. Customers may also call NYC Transit’s Travel Information Center at 718 330 1234 or log on at www.mta.info.
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