So here we are again. It’s another Friday with another round of service alerts and story about how crowded the subways are.
At this point, I, like SUBWAYblogger, have to wonder if this is even news. Apparently, subway ridership for the first six months of 2007 was up 4 percent over the same time period in 2006. That gave the MTA 5 billion riders for the first half of the year or 78 million more than last year. As anyone who rides the subway knows, the trains are crowded.
More impressive though is the fact that so many people are riding the trains while at the same time repeated rating the train service as below average. Those C-minuses certainly don’t reflect riders turning away from the subway.
So as the MTA grapples with a slew of riders and an onslaught of bad grades, weekend service is, as always, problematic. The capital construction projects aren’t completed overnight. Service advisories are here and reprinted below for your convenience.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, there are no 1 trains between 14th Street and South Ferry. Customers may take the 2 or 3 between 14th Street and Chambers Street. There are free shuttle buses operating between Chambers Street and South Ferry. This is due to Port Authority underpinning work at the WTC site for the new PATH station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, 2 and 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to Port Authority underpinning work at the WTC site for the new PATH station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, Manhattan-bound 234 trains skip Eastern Parkway, Grand Army Plaza and Bergen Street due to inspection of steel and tunnel in preparation for Atlantic Arena project.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to noon Sunday, October 7, Manhattan-bound 4 trains run express from Burnside Avenue to 149th Street due to work on the Grand Concourse Bridge at 151st Street.
At all times until Monday, November 12, Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Mosholu Parkway due to station rehabilitation.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 7, Bronx-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Parkchester due to track panel installation at Whitlock Avenue. (The last stop for some Bronx-bound 6 trains will be 3rd Avenue.)
From 12:01 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to Monday, October 8, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th, 82nd, 74th and 69th Streets due to prep work for 74th Street interlocking.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, free shuttle buses and shuttle train service replace the A between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the Rockaways due to track panel installation south of Howard Beach-JFK Airport station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, there is no A train service between 207th Street and 168th Street. There is no C train service. Free shuttle buses replace A trains between 168th Street and 207th Street via Broadway. Special M4 buses provide additional service via Ft. Washington Avenue. This is due to tunnel rehabilitation between 168th Street and 207th Street stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, downtown A trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Springs Streets due to Chambers Street signal modernization. (The Brooklyn-bound A will make all other local stops.)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to noon Sunday, October 7, Bronx-bound D trains run express from 145th Street to Fordham Road due to track and cable work between 145th Street and Bedford Park Boulevard stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, there is no E train service between West 4th Street and World Trade Center due to Chambers Street signal modernizations. Customers may take the A instead between the West 4th and Broadway-Nassau Street stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, downtown F trains skip 23rd and 14th Streets due to wall and ceiling closures, signage work, and installation of conduits for dampers along station walls.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, Manhattan-bound F trains skip Sutphin Blvd., Van Wyck Blvd. and 75th Avenue due to installation of conduits along tracks between Union Turnpike and Roosevelt Avenue stations.
From 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 5 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, there is no G train service between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to installation of conduit along tracks between Union Turnpike and Roosevelt Avenue stations. Customers should take the E or R.
From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, October 7, Manhattan-bound N trains skip 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th and 39th Avenues due to replacement of rails on curve between Queensboro Plaza and Roosevelt Avenue stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, Manhattan-bound NR trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to tunnel rehabilitation south of Prince Street station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 8, Manhattan-bound R trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to – Seriously, on the MTA’s website, it cuts out here. What can I say? The R is running express. Who knows why?
1 comment
“More impressive though is the fact that so many people are riding the trains while at the same time repeated rating the train service as below average. Those C-minuses certainly don’t reflect riders turning away from the subway.
The subway strike was a great example of the nervous system that the subway is to NYC. Without it, we lose our minds and our reasonable commute. I say reasonable only because the commuters to Manhattan from the far reaches of the city would be SOL in a car or bus.
I would like to see proof that riders ARE turning away from the subway in large numbers. I now I did but I’m the only person I know who has.