Home Asides R train’s Montague St. Tunnel expected back on Friday

R train’s Montague St. Tunnel expected back on Friday

by Benjamin Kabak

New York City Transit expects to restore R train service between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan this Friday, Carmen Bianco, Senior Vice President of the Department of Subways, said this morning at the MTA Board’s committee hearings. R train service has been suspended between the two boroughs since Hurricane Sandy came ashore, and the Montague St. Tunnel had sustained some of the heaviest damage due to flooding. The news is welcome for interborough commuters who have found the 2/3 and 4/5 lines more crowded than usual with the R out of service.

With this announcement, only the A train’s Rockaway service and the 1 train’s South Ferry terminal remain offline. Bianco today said that he expects regular service to the Rockaways to be restored before South Ferry is operational again. It’s unclear though how long either area will be without regular service as South Ferry sustained heavy damage and no full station assessment has been conducted. Transit officials say they are unclear as to what extent they will restore South Ferry, but it’s possible that some station components will be improved from their pre-Sandy condition.

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17 comments

Phantom December 17, 2012 - 12:28 pm

Yay !

Hi from Austin

Can’t wait to ride my restored R train Friday!

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Someone December 17, 2012 - 12:32 pm

I wonder how many railfans will be riding the restored R train.

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Benjamin Kabak December 17, 2012 - 12:33 pm

I’m sure some will, but I don’t know why. Other than being the first run after 8 weeks, it’s not going to do anything that the R train at any other time hasn’t done before.

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alek December 17, 2012 - 1:30 pm

I think the R might be little bit extra crowded until the (1) will be restored to South Ferry due to Staten Island Ferry commuters using the (R) to get to Downtown Brooklyn.

And the 4/5 lines can get some relief.

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Someone December 17, 2012 - 1:47 pm

If the R is going to Downtown Brooklyn, why would there be extra passengers from the 1 train using the R?

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Benjamin Kabak December 17, 2012 - 1:48 pm

Uptown R trains will be more crowded because passengers exiting the Ferry Terminal will board at Whitehall where only the R will be running. Prior to the storm, the ferry crowds were split between the 1 and R.

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Someone December 17, 2012 - 2:06 pm

Oh, I get it now. I thought the Staten Island Ferry was running to Downtown Brooklyn…

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Simon December 18, 2012 - 8:58 am

So the R might be extra crowded due to Staten Island Ferry commuters using it to go uptown, not to Downtown Brooklyn.

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Jerrold December 17, 2012 - 3:56 pm

But how else could they do it, even before Sandy?
The #1 South Ferry station is a terminal, so anybody getting off the ferry who is going to Downtown Brooklyn could only use the R to get there, both in the past and now.

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Matthias December 18, 2012 - 11:17 am

Interesting…this is all over the news, but the MTA website has nothing.

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[…] The R train will likely return to Lower Manhattan on Friday [SAS] · Henry Chalfant’s photos of graffiti-covered subways during the 1970s [NYT] […]

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