Part-time trains get poor marks

We’re hitting the home stretch with these Rider Report Cards, and it’ll be time to start all over again before you know it. As the new line managers on the 7 and L took over on Monday, the MTA will wait with bated breath to see if their management plan actually improves straphanger feelings on service.

But in the meantime, we’ve got Rider Report Cards to dole out. Today, we’ve got the V and the R, two part-time trains that, when running make a ton of stops. The V, 6th Avenue local that will one day feed Brooklyn as part of the F Express Plan, received a C-minus, and the R, Broadway local, also took home a C-minus. That seems par for the course these days.

The V train services Queens and Manhattan. It runs from 6 a.m. to midnight during weekdays, starting at Forest Hills-71st Ave. It runs local underneath Queens Boulevard before jetting under the East River via the 53rd St. Tunnel and south down 6th Ave. before terminating at Second Ave. The riders, all 1636 of them, thought the train could use some work.

The R serves Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. From 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., the R makes 44 stops from Forest Hills-71st Ave. along Queens Boulevard and into Manhattan via the 60th St. Tunnel. It runs local down Broadway and into Brooklyn where it runs — you guessed it — local down 4th Ave. to Bay Ridge. From 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., the R runs back and forth from Bay Ridge to 36th St.

The R and I have a decent relationship. It runs past Union St. in Brooklyn, and I’ll frequent that station now and then. In general, the R is a sluggish trek through many local stops that are just too close together. The trains are old, and the stations — especially those far out in Brooklyn — are in sorry states of disrepair. The Top Ten list of complains will, as you’ll see in a minute, reflect those feelings.

The V is one train I don’t ride too often. Rarely am I going to just Second Ave. on the 6th Ave. line from points north, and the V is useless in Brooklyn (hint, hint, hint). But riders in Queens claim they appreciate it as an alternative to the R along the crowded Queens Boulevard line. Still, that C-minus doesn’t reflect too much love.

Both of these lines will represent tough challenges for the MTA. The V always shares tracks with other trains, whether those trains are the R, G, E or F, and the R shares tracks with, at various points on the route and during the day, the G, V, W, N and M trains. While not at capacity adding service along these lines while cutting down on in-route delays will be tricky.

On to the rankings. Complete grades follow the jump.

1. Reasonable wait times for trains
2. Minimal delays during trips
3. Station announcements that are easy to hear
4. Adequate room on board at rush hour
5. Train announcements that are easy to hear
6. Cleanliness of stations
7. Station announcements that are informative
8. Cleanliness of subway cars
9. Sense of security in stations
10. Working elevators and escalators in stations

1. Reasonable wait times for trains
2. Minimal delays during trips
3. Adequate room on board at rush hour
4. Station announcements that are easy to hear
5. Train announcements that are easy to hear
6. Cleanliness of stations
7. Cleanliness of subway cars
8. Sense of security in stations
9. Sense of security on trains
10. Station announcements that are informative