Home Service Advisories Weekend service harkens back to the 1990s

Weekend service harkens back to the 1990s

by Benjamin Kabak

A view down the tracks of the Manhattan Bridge. (By flickr user Ioan Sameli)

In 1986, the city embarked a renovation project of the Mahattan Bridge that would take 18 years. The bridge had to be repaired because the subway cars that rumble by the northern and southern sides of the bridge cause the structure to sway.

For 18 years, various parts of the bridge were closed. Sometimes, the N went through the Montague St. Tunnel. Other years, the B and D didn’t make across the bridge. The Q turned from yellow to orange and back to yellow again depending upon the state of renovations. For the last four years, as Brooklyn has undergone a population boom, the easy access over the Manhattan Bridge has been one of the driving forces behind this push.

This weekend, we’ll return to the glory days for the 1990s, if only for 53 hours. The bridge is due for its biennial inspection as the city has to make sure its fixes are holding. As such, service along the Broadway and Sixth Ave. lines as they cross the bridge is fairly wacky.

The Q and N are running local in Manhattan and are heading into and out of Brooklyn via the Montague St. Tunnel. After DeKalb Ave., the trains will run along the Brighton and Sea Beach lines, respectively, out to Coney Island. That’s the easy part.

The D meanwhile is all over the place. In Manhattan, the train will run in two section. First, it goes as normally would to 34th St. At 34th St., the D will run local along the R and into and out of Brooklyn via the Montague St. Tunnel. After DeKalb Ave., the D will run express to Coney Island. Meanwhile, a shuttle will operate between W. 4th St. and Grand St. There will be a quiz on this on Monday.

And now on to everything else.


From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, October 25, Manhattan-bound 1 trains skip 238, 231, and 225 Sts. due to emergency track work. For service from these stations, take a Bronx-bound 1 to 242 St and transfer to a Manhattan-bound 1. For service to these stations, take the 1 to Dyckman St and transfer to a Bronx-bound 1.


From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, October 26, downtown 1 trains skip 207th St. due to emergency track work. For service from this station, take the A at 207 St-Broadway and transfer to the 1 at 168 St, Or take an uptown 1 to 215 St and transfer to a downtown 1. For service to this station, take the 1 to Dyckman St and transfer to an uptown 1.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, there are no 1 trains between 34th Street and South Ferry due to signal work near South Ferry. Customers may take the 2 train between 34th Street and Chambers Street. A free shuttle bus will operate between Chambers Street and South Ferry.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, uptown 2 trains skip 79th and 86th Sts. due to several jobs, including track chip-out north of 135th Street, and communication and cable installations.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, there are no 2 trains between 96th Street and 241st Street due to several jobs, including track chip-out north of 135th Street, and communication and cable installations. Free shuttle buses replace the 2 between 96th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 trains replace the 2 between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 241st Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, 2 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to signal work near South Ferry.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, there are no 3 trains running due to a track chip-out north of 135th Street station. Free shuttle buses and 24 trains provide alternate service.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, there are no C trains running. Customers should take the A instead. Uptown A trains run local from Euclid Avenue to 168th Street. Downtown A trains run local from 168th Street to West 4th Street, then on the F line to Jay Street, then resume local service to Euclid Avenue. These changes are due to Chambers Street Signal Modernization.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, D trains run in two sections due to the biennial inspection of Manhattan Bridge:

  • Between 205th Street and 34th Street-6th Avenue D station and
  • Between the 34th Street-Broadway Q station and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, no D trains between 34th Street-6th Avenue and DeKalb Avenue due to the biennial inspection of Manhattan Bridge. A special shuttle S train runs between West 4th Street and Grand Street stations.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, Manhattan-bound F trains skip Ft. Hamilton Parkway, 15th Street-Prospect Park, and 4th Avenue due to construction of employee facilities at Church Avenue station.


From 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 24 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Long Island City-Court Square. Customers should take the E or R instead.


From 1 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, J trains run in two sections due to structural work at Canal Street:

  • Between Jamaica Center and Essex Street and
  • Between Essex Street and Chambers Street


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, free shuttle buses replace L trains between Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs. due to removal of the old concrete roadbed at Bushwick Avenue-Aberdeen Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, N and Q trains run on the R between DeKalb Avenue and Canal Street due to the biennial inspection of the Manhattan Bridge.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, N and Q trains run local between Canal Street and 57th Street due to the biennial inspection of the Manhattan Bridge.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 25 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 27, Manhattan-bound Q trains skip Neck Road and Avenue U due to manhole excavation and conduit work.

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5 comments

BrightonRider October 24, 2008 - 7:30 pm

The service changes this weekend are confusing and seem to be a bit misrepresented both here and on the MTA website. From what I can tell, below are what’s running on the D, N, Q, and 1 lines this weekend.

2 separate D services operate:

1) Norwood-205th St (Bronx) to 34th St-Herald Square (BDFV express platform) via normal route (Central Park West Express)

2) 34th St-Herald Sq (NQRW express platform) to Coney Island via weekday N route (Broadway Express, south side of Manhattan Bridge, DeKalb Bypass) to Pacific St, then normal

Passengers intending to travel on the D through 34th St will have to get off the train at 34th St and change levels between BDFV platforms and NQRW platforms to get the other, separate D train. The D is NOT supposed to operate along the R tunnel route through Lower Manhattan.

The Q will operate normal between Canal Street and Coney Island but local in Manhattan (this is to get out of the way of the southern D train turning around on the express tracks at 34th St). Although the MTA website shows the tunnel/R route for N and Q, if you open the PDF notice it shows only N. The N will operate as noted via the R line and via local in Manhattan (this is to not have D, N, and Q all operating via one side of the bridge).

Note that next weekend (November 1-2) the bridge service is swapped, with the D operating normal and the N and Q both operating via the R tunnel route so that the south side of the bridge is closed.

Also, it appears that the 1 is not running between 14th St and South Ferry (not 34th as shown); this is the semi-normal service pattern that has plagued West Side IRT riders for quite a while. Even though it should get better when the new South Ferry terminal opens in the next few months, the ongoing construction at the WTC site means there will probably still be disruptions for the foreseeable future.

For those keeping track, there are also lengthly shuttle bus operations on the L (no trains betwen Myrtle-Wyckoff and Canarsie) and on the 2/3 (no trains between 96th St and 149th St-Grand Concourse).

Reply
Benjamin Kabak October 24, 2008 - 10:21 pm

Actually, I’ve confirmed this with NYCT. There is no train service of any kind over the Manhattan Bridge. The N, Q and D trains are all running through DeKalb and the Montague Street tunnel.

You are correct about the D transfer at 34th st. It’s on two separate levels.

Reply
Andrew October 25, 2008 - 8:09 pm

I had to get to Chambers St. today, and since I had read here and in the service advisory email that the Q would be running local between DeKalb, I decided to stay on Q and get off at City Hall, saving me a transfer. Normally, I would have taken to the Q to Atlantic and hopped on the 2/3 to get to Chambers. However, when the train rolled up to DeKalb, the conductor announced that the next stop would in fact be Canal, with no mention whatsoever of the planned service changes. In the end it was not a big deal; I was just a few minutes later than I would have been otherwise. The only thing I could think of was that they may have had to postpone the inspection due to the inclement weather. However, the MTA website still says that Q trains are running local north of DeKalb all weekend. Anyone know what’s going on?

Reply
BrightonRider October 26, 2008 - 12:07 am

I took the Q today and it is indeed running over the bridge, along with the Brooklyn D (on the south side of the bridge). The planned work was still done; this is how the service diversion was planned all along. Next weekend the bridge work is reversed, and then the Q will operate through the tunnel. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe that NYCT would ever operate 4 services through the tunnel as you suggested (D, N, Q, and R).

It is really unfortunate that NYCT cannot properly communicate to customers what is actually going on. I would suggest that perhaps they should have a line-by-line list showing all the stops each route is making each weekend – it could also have the transfers that will actually be available, and should also have the planned frequency. Often routes are shifted from 8-minute to 12-minute headways on the weekend and that is never publicly announced.

Reply
Todd October 26, 2008 - 2:27 pm

Given how often what they say doesn’t line up with what they actually do, I’m shocked there aren’t more incidents. They must communicate better internally than they do with the public.

Reply

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