Home Service Advisories No pants, work on 13 subway lines mark the weekend

No pants, work on 13 subway lines mark the weekend

by Benjamin Kabak

It’s that time of year again, the time when a bunch of youngsters — and some oldsters — descend upon the subway without their pants on. Once upon a time, I participated in Improv Everywhere’s No Pants Subway Ride, but I’m over it. It was funny when it was a surprise, but now that it’s a Thing We Expect, the novelty has worn off. Plus, it’s flu season. Keep your pants on.

Anyway, if a little risque action is your thing, check out the info at Improv Everywhere’s website. Even as I’ve become more curmudgeonly about the whole thing, it is pretty funny to see those few unsuspecting straphangers react with amused confusion when a bunch of folks in underwear board the train. For those who want to avoid it, stay away from Union Square between 3 and 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Meanwhile, there are a bunch of other service changes. If you’re feeling generous, please try to go Long Island City this weekend. There’s no 7 service, and the G is running in two sections and every 20 minutes. There are a bunch of good businesses out there — including a really good beer bar — that need the support.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, January 12 to 9 p.m. Sunday, January 13, Rector Street-bound 1 trains skip 238th Street, 231st Street and 225th Street due to track panel installation north of 231st Street.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, 242nd Street-bound 1 trains skip Dyckman Street due to floor tile installation at Dyckman Street.


From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, January 12 and Sunday, January 13, the last stop for some uptown 1 trains is 137th Street due to track panel installation north of 231st Street.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, January 12 to 10 p.m. Sunday, January 13, 2 service operates in two sections due to track panel installation north of Bronx Park East:

  • Between Flatbush Avenue and East 180th Street*
  • Between East 180th Street and 241st Street

Customers may transfer between trains at East 180th Street.

*2 trains are rerouted to Dyre Avenue at East 180th Street during this time.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, there are no 3 trains between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch replacement at Utica Avenue.

  • 3 service operates between 148th Street and Franklin Avenue and via the 2 line between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue.
  • Free shuttle buses operate in two segments between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue:
    1. Local between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue.
    2. Non-stop between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue and local between Sutter Avenue and New Lots Avenue.

Customers may transfer between trains and free shuttle buses at Franklin Avenue.

Note: From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., the 3 operates between 148th Street and Times Square-42nd Street only.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, there are no 4 trains between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and New Lots Avenue due to switch replacement at Utica Avenue.

  • 4 service operates between Woodlawn and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center. Take 2 or 3 trains between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Franklin Avenue.
  • Free shuttle buses operate in two segments between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue:
    1. Local between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue.
    2. Non-stop between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue and local between Sutter Avenue and New Lots Avenue.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 12 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, 4 trains operate local in both directions between 125th Street and Grand Central-42nd Street stations due to signal work between 42nd Street-Grand Central and 59th Street and track work near 86th Street.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, January 12 to 10 p.m. Sunday, January 13, 5 service is suspended due to signal work between 42nd Street and 59th Street and track work near 86th Street. Customers should take the 2 and/or 4 train instead.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14 (and the next 10 weekends), there is no 7 train service between Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza due to Flushing Line CBTC. Customers may take the E, N, Q and S (42nd Street shuttle) and free shuttle buses as alternatives.

  • Use the E, N or Q* between Manhattan and Queens
  • Free shuttle buses operate between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue and Queensboro Plaza
  • In Manhattan, the 42nd Street S Shuttle operates overnight

*Q service is extended to Ditmars Blvd. (See Q entry for hours of operation.)


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 6 a.m. Saturday, January 12, from 11:45 p.m. Saturday, January 12 to 6 a.m. Sunday, January 13 and from 11:45 p.m. Sunday, January 13 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, Manhattan-bound A trains skip Rockaway Avenue and Ralph Avenue due to platform area rehab at Utica Avenue.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, January 12 and Sunday, January 13, Manhattan-bound C trains skip Rockaway Avenue and Ralph Avenue due to platform area rehab at Utica Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14 , Coney Island-bound F trains run express from Jay Street-MetroTech to Church Avenue due to work on the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation and the Church Avenue Interlocking.


From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, January 12 and Sunday, January 13, Brooklyn-bound F trains skip Avenue U and Avenue X due to platform edge survey south of Kings Highway.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, there are no G trains between Church Avenue and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts due to work on the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation and the Church Avenue Interlocking. Customers should take the F instead.

  • For F service, customers may take the A or C between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. and Jay Street-MetroTech.
  • G service operates in two sections: 1. Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Aves and 2. Between Bedford-Nostrand Aves and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. (every 20 minutes).


From 12:45 a.m. Saturday, January 12 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, J service operates in two sections due to escalator replacement at Bowery station:

  1. Between Jamaica Center and Delancey-Essex Sts.
  2. Between Delancey-Essex Sts and Chambers Street, (every 20 minutes).


From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, January 12 and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, January 13, Q trains are extended to Ditmars Blvd. in order to augment service between Manhattan and Queens.


From 11 p.m. Friday, January 11 to 5 a.m. Monday, January 14, Brooklyn-bound Q trains run local from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to electrical work at 14th Street-Union Square.

(42nd Street Shuttle)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, January 12, Sunday, January 13 and Monday, January 14, 42nd Street S shuttle operates overnight due to weekend work on the 7 line.

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13 comments

Brian January 12, 2013 - 11:41 am

People still do that? I thought we had gotten over it like 5 years ago

Reply
Someone January 12, 2013 - 5:23 pm

Well, I wear a second pair of underpants just in case…

Reply
SEAN January 12, 2013 - 5:45 pm

Some of the IE stuff is really funny.

So what if the shock value of no pants on the subway war off, remember it’s harmless fun & nothing more. Actually I would pay to see mayor Bloomburg ride the subway without his pants on or any local politition for that matter.

Reply
Alex C January 12, 2013 - 6:26 pm

A whole lot of F express service changes on the “IND Culver” (hate that name…just call it Gowanus) on weekends until mid-February. Looks like they’re finishing up all the switches and the whole project should be done tracks-and-stations by April. Not exactly on schedule, but it’ll be done.

Reply
Someone January 12, 2013 - 7:13 pm

There probably isn’t going to be any express service along the Gowanus viaduct for a long time. Maybe not even until 2015.

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Andrew January 12, 2013 - 8:50 pm

Not exactly on schedule, indeed – it’s early, according to this press release from May 2009: http://mta.info/mta/news/relea.....520-NYCT73

Reply
Someone January 13, 2013 - 10:24 am

Quoted from the press release:

The Fourth Avenue interlocking will be upgraded with new switches and signals, as well as new signal controls that will be Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) ready.

Quoted from here:

Project Description: Update and finalize CBTC Interface and Interoperability (I2S)standards; develop two interoperable, safety certified CBTC interfaces. Provide Test Track between 4th Avenue and Church Avenue Interlocking on B3 Track.

This basically means that we won’t be seeing any express service on the Gowanus Viaduct anytime soon.

Reply
Andrew January 13, 2013 - 11:29 am

I’m not sure what that has to do with my post (I was addressing Alex C’s comment that the viaduct work was running late), but it’s not true. Culver express service is running right now (this very weekend). The CBTC test track is for off-peak testing of CBTC systems. It doesn’t stand in the way of rush hour express service.

I doubt we’ll ever see scheduled express service on the line, not because it can’t run but because it doesn’t make sense – some of the busiest stations on the line are close-in local stations, while the distant stations that would benefit the most from express service are low-use.

That said, it’s being considered: http://www.pcac.org/nyctrc/mee.....-09272012/

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Someone January 13, 2013 - 4:00 pm

Oh, I get it now. It probably wouldn’t make sense to add express service on the viaduct, anyways.

That being said, the viaduct construction is actually on time, as the press release stated that project would last “approximately four years.” That’s more or less from 2009 to now.

Andrew January 12, 2013 - 8:46 pm

Only the southern section of the G is on a 20-minute headway, and that’s only because it’s single-tracking (the only way to avoid running into the upper level at Bergen, which is out of service southbound).

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Someone January 13, 2013 - 10:36 am

This doesn’t make any sense. There aren’t any G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets and Church Avenue. The only way to get to Bergen Street is by trasferring to the A/C at Hoyt-Schermerhorn and then transferring to the F at Jay Street.

Besides, there aren’t really any switches between Bedford-Nostrand and Hoyt-Schermerhorn (hence the single-tracking, and not because of the out-of-service track at Bergen Street.)

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Andrew January 13, 2013 - 11:21 am

That’s what I said. Southbound G trains can’t get into the upper level at Bergen this weekend, because that track is out of service. The next place to the north that they can turn is Bedford-Nostrand, and the trains north of that point are running on their regular headway. What’s running between Bedford-Nostrand and Hoyt-Schermerhorn is a single-track shuttle, and that’s why the headways are so long.

If G trains could get into Bergen, none of this would be necessary. But they can’t, so it is.

Reply
Someone January 13, 2013 - 3:56 pm

Oh, OK. I get it now. It also explains why F trains are running express southbound.

Reply

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