Earlier this week, I dropped a short post about how bad this weekend’s service changes will be. Now that Friday is upon us, we can see for ourselves the carnage, and it’s bad. If you’re planning on going anywhere this weekend, leave a lot of extra time for travel.
Remember: These service advisories come to me via the MTA and are subject to change without notice. Listen for announcements on board and check the signs in your local station. The Subway Weekend map will be particularly helpful this week.
Because there are so many updates, I’m going to stick them after a jump so the rest of the SAS content from this week doesn’t get buried.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, downtown 1 trains skip 86th, 79th, 66th, 59th, and 50th Streets due to station rehab work at 96th Street and 59th Street and tunnel lighting installation.
From 5 a.m. to 12 noon, Sunday, October 11, Manhattan-bound 2 trains skip Jackson Avenue due to rail repairs.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, 3 trains are extended to 34th Street due to station rehab work at 96th Street and 59th Street and tunnel lighting installation.
From 1 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, October 11, Manhattan-bound 4 trains run local from 125th Street to 42nd Street-Grand Central due to cable work.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, there are no 5 trains between Dyre Avenue and 149th Street-Grand Concourse due to cable work. Free shuttle buses replace the 5 between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street. 2 trains make all stops between East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse.
From 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, October 11, Manhattan-bound 5 trains run local from 125th Street to 42nd Street-Grand Central due to cable work.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 11, Manhattan-bound 7 trains skip 111th, 103rd, 90th, 82nd, 74th, 69th, 52nd, 46th, 40th, and 33rd Streets due to track panel installation.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, free shuttle buses replace A trains between 207th Street and 168th Street due to tunnel and lighting rehabilitation. Customers may transfer between the Broadway or Fort Washington Avenue shuttle buses and the A trains at 168th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, downtown A trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Spring Streets due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization project.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, free shuttle buses replace the A and S between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the Rockaways due to rehabilitation work on the South Channel Bridge. Customers may transfer between the A train and the Far Rockaway or Rockaway Park shuttle buses at Howard Beach.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, downtown C trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Spring Streets due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization project.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, there are no C trains between 168th and 145th due to tunnel and lighting rehabilitation. Customers should take the A instead.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, D trains run local between 34th Street and West 4th Street due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, D trains run local between DeKalb Avenue and 36th Street due to the Culver Viaduct Reconstruction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, Manhattan-bound D trains run express from Bay Parkway to 9th Avenue due to platform and rubbing board repair.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, E trains are rerouted on the F line between Manhattan and Queens due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization:
- There are no E trains between 34th Street and World Trade Center.
- Queens-bound E trains run on the F from 34th Street-Herald Square to 21st Street-Queensbridge; trains resume normal E service from Roosevelt Avenue to Jamaica Center.
- Manhattan-bound E trains run on the F line from 47th-50th Streets to 34th Street/Herald Square.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, Queens-bound E platforms at Queens Plaza, 23rd Street-Ely Avenue, Lexington Avenue-53rd Street and 5th Avenue stations are closed due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization: Customers may take the R, G or 6 instead. Note: Free shuttle buses connect the Court Square G/23rd Street-Ely Avenue, Queens Plaza, and 21st Street-Queensbridge F stations.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, October 10, Sunday, October 10 and Monday, October 12, Manhattan-bound E trains run express from Roosevelt Avenue to Queens Plaza due to rail repairs.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, free shuttle buses replace F trains between Jay Street and Church Avenue due to the Culver Viaduct Reconstruction.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, free shuttle buses replace trains between Bergen Street and Church Avenue due to the Culver Viaduct Reconstruction.
From 8:30 p.m. to midnight Friday, October 9, and from 6:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization. Brooklyn-bound G customers may take the R to Queens Plaza and transfer to a shuttle bus connecting to Court Square. Queens-bound G customers may take the R instead.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, October 10, Sunday, October 11, and Monday, October 12, Brooklyn-bound G trains run express from Roosevelt Avenue to Queens Plaza due to rail repairs.
From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, Manhattan-bound J trains skip Flushing Avenue, Lorimer and Hewes Streets due to rail work at Flushing Avenue and Lorimer Street.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, October 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, free shuttle buses replace L trains between Lorimer Street and Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues due to a track chip-out at Jefferson Street station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, N trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge between DeKalb Avenue and Canal Street in both directions due to general maintenance.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, N trains run local between DeKalb Avenue and 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to general maintenance.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, Q trains run local between 57th Street-7th Avenue and Canal Street due to general maintenance.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 12, there are no R trains between 34th Street-Herald Square and 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to general maintenance. Customers should take the N or 4 instead.
42 comments
(I intend to submit this message for posting on the Times website, but I might as well put it here also.)
I don’t live on Roosevelt Island, but there is something that I’m surprised that Roosevelt Island residents are NOT raising a stink about:
The Second Ave. subway, if they ever DO complete it, will have a station at 55 St. and the next station will be at 72 St.
Why won’t there be a 60 St. station to connect with the tram?
After 42 St., there should be a 50 St. station anyway.
Then the next stop could be at 60 St.
I can’t believe that nobody else has publicly raised this issue, especially all of the people who unlike me, actually live on the island.
Jerrold: I hope you read this comment before submitting it to The Times’ site. The current plans for the Second Ave. Subway include opening up the currently closed platform at Lexington Ave. and 63rd St. It will connect to the F whose next or previous stop is Roosevelt Island. No one has raised the issue because there isn’t one. They get their connection.
You are entirely correct, but I am still surprised why the SAS does not connect to 59th St. on the 4/5/6/N/R/W, which is as busy of a complex (if not busier) than 53rd St/Lex. There are massive crowds at both stations which should be alleviated by this new subway line. It might have to do with money concerns, or it might have to do with preserving the ‘express’ feel of the line. I don’t know, but I think this is an issue they should try to address when they are building Phase 3 10-15 years from now.
Well, the Q part of the SAS plans will connect via that free transfer F train riders enjoy at 63rd St. Additionally, that connection would be a bit redundant because a rider could just transfer to the N/R/W at 57th St., the next stop, and the idea behind the SAS is to alleviate overcrowding on the Lex lines.
The eventual T part of the SAS won’t because it’s on Second Ave.
“that free transfer F train riders enjoy at 63rd St.”
The fact that you used the word enjoy prompts me to comment. I use this “free” transfer from 59th St. everyday. It’s not free. It’s a regular transfer. After you make that transfer, you can’t transfer again on an ordinary metrocard. It’s no transfer at all, in fact, it’s walking up out of the depths of the 59th St. station and making the long walk down to the F train at 63rd.
Just to put that out there. I’m not sure how many people actually make this transfer but it’s not a pretty one.
What about people traveling between stations along Second Ave. south of 63 St., and Roosevelt Island? When the T train finally exists, current plans call for it to “skip” from 55 St. to 72 St.
The Second Ave. Subway will always be the Q and the T. People traveling south can either transfer to the F at Houston St./2nd Ave., transfer to the Q at 72nd St. or walk to the tram from the 55th St. stop. Getting the connection to the E/V at 53rd St. is far more important considering the ridership numbers on that line vs. the ridership to Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island was the 232nd most popular stop while that 53rd St. stop was the 8th most popular.
Ben, the 63rd-SAS connection is useful in alleviating congestion on the QB line. Right now service patterns are such that the 63rd Street Tunnel can’t be used at its full capacity, forcing more commuters onto the crush-loaded 53rd Street Line. A connection would increase Queens-Manhattan capacity.
Alon: Take a look at this map. That’s the MTA’s current conception of how the full SAS will look. There will be a transfer for passengers between the T, E, V and 6 trains at 53rd St.
That’s a (planned) route map, not a track map. Phase 3 will include a connection from Queens to downtown.
How would it increase Queens-Manhattan capacity? The current constraint is on the IND trunk – 30 tph on the express and 20 tph at the terminal for the local. The only way to add Queens service to 2nd Ave is to take it away from somewhere else.
The theoretical limit on the local is 30 tph, not 20. The current limit is lower only because the F and E can’t both use 63rd; this force the V to share 53rd with the E, while the R shares 59th with the N and W.
An SAS-63rd connection would allow a third service to poach express service from the E.
No, as I said, the 20 tph constraint is at the Forest Hills terminal. (If you don’t believe me, head out there on a local during the AM or PM rush. Even with only 20 tph scheduled, you’ll probably hit congestion.)
Of course the E could use 63rd – but why would you want only one service through 53rd?
Besides – the Queens local is hardly in need of additional service.
Phase 3 of SAS is scheduled to include a connection from the line to the F, allowing three separate lines to use SAS: the Q, using the line north of 63rd; the T, using the entire line; and a third service, call it U, using the line south of 63rd and then joining the F in going to Queens.
Your U connection going from Queens to Lower Manhattan south of 63rd via the Second Ave. line is not in the current plan for the SAS. I think it may have been in an original plan, and the MTA may still have the option to run trains that way. But it’s not currently planned to do so.
The MTA is planning to build the connection, but not run trains over it in scheduled service. It’s too bad, because it could actually improve capacity on both Lex and QB.
60th Street is probably smack dab in the middle of an interlocking. That’s why the stations are spread out in that area.
If you’re going downtown, walk 4-5 blocks and you’ll be at 55th Street. If you’re going uptown, take the F and transfer to the Q.
Manhattan-bound G trains?
Don’t ask me. I just copy and paste. That should say Brooklyn-bound G trains.
I have to agree about the transfer between the F and the 4,5,6,N,R, and W not being particularly enjoyable. Also these are two of the deepest stations in the city! Just navigating the 59th Street/ Lexington station isn’t exactly fun, its probably the second worst station in the city in that regards after the Fulton Street collection of stations.
That stretch of Lexington Avenue is also pretty horrible for foot traffic, people have to basically walk single file on the sidewalks.
If they open a 63rd Street/ Lexington Tunnel, hopefully there will be money for an underground pedestrian passageway between the 63rd Street and 60th Streets.
Silliest conversation one can imagine. Remember, no work is being done on the SAS at all right now, nor has any substantive work been done for months. The thing is completely screwed up and people in the neighborhood are getting fed up. Phase one as planned can’t be built for at least another ten years. Stop talking about you don’t understand.
Remember, no work is being done on the SAS at all right now, nor has any substantive work been done for months.
No work? Really?
They may be awaiting permission from FDNY to begin blasting at 92d Street, but that doesn’t mean there’s no work going on elsewhere on the line.
What about all of THIS work?:
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/capco.....uction.htm
Do you think that the MTA is making it all up
and it’s not true?
I live on 72nd Street, and frequently pass by 72nd and 2nd. Anecdotally, I sometimes see construction crews there, but when they’re there they don’t seem to do much.
I suspect the crews you see are there for East Side Access, the LIRR connection to Grand Central. SAS development, while progressing, still has its heavy construction up in the 90s. Any SAS-related work near 72nd is likely either site surveys (for buildings or partial buildings to be taken over), or taking ground samples (to determine the depth of dirt and rock, the density of the rock, etc, all critical to the stability of the station to be installed); though I’d bet the latter has been completed already.
Maybe. To me it looks like ordinary early-stage cut and cover construction for a subway station.
Besides, isn’t ESA construction limited to the 50s and low 60s?
That’s right.
The LIRR trains to and from Grand Central will use the already-existing lower level of the 63 St. tunnel.
There is no way that the construction at Second Ave. and 72 St. could be for the East Side Access instead of the Second Ave. Subway.
You don’t go to the MTA website to found out what they are doing. You must go to the construction site itself. NOTHING IS BEING DONE. On Friday five guys could be seen between 91st and 96th pretending to attach or detach or tighten wires to fences. Playacting, and getting paid God knows how much an hour to do it. The joke is on the citizens of New York. No workers at all were visible on Saturday between 91st and 96th.
I’m going to have to agree. I’m at 84th & 2nd and they’ve come to ruin the 2nd Ave. businesses near me by making us walk single file over the trap doors on the sidewalk that they’ve destroyed. They’ve additionally made a mess of the road itself. As for work being done? Aside from wrecking the street and the sidewalk, which they did pretty quickly, I’ve seen an engineer using a calculator on a big, square, concrete block. That’s about it for 2 weeks.
I know this is for the improvement of a future city but there absolutely must be more efficient ways to do it.
I am not sure that just because people pass by a construction site and they don’t see workers doing something right there in front of them, that necessarily means no one is doing anything. I am reminded of people who say they never see anyone in a bike lane and the DOT has real data saying 5,000 bikers use that lane every day.
I am read somewhere that the blasting permit they needed has been denied or delayed for some reason. I don’t think that when a big project gets behind schedule or over budget it’s because the workers were just lazy.
My God, we are talking about hundreds of miles of bike lines, genius. We are talking about a five block area that it takes five minutes to examine. If no one can be seen working, then NO ONE IS WORKING. Specters are not going to complete this line.
But people can be seen working! It’s just that lately, they’re working underground, underneath the utilities they’re moving, so they’re easy to miss.
It makes one so tired. Listen, they are not working underground either. Please, go over and look at blocks 91 to 96. Nothing meaningful is happening. In two and a half years, they have made almost no progress. Even if they started working regular hours again, there is no way the MTA can build four brand new stations and a mile and a half of track in less than ten years. Trust me, we are soon going to hear about more modifications to the pie-in-the-sky plans that we were asked to swallow gullibly back in 2006 or so. Please, people, think. This project in a microcosm shows why New York is unmanageable and always will be. A farce.
[…] the weekend, a few SAS commenters got into a long discussion about the pace of work — or lack thereof — along Second Ave. People who are in the neighborhood […]
I live on East 92nd Street and I walk past the Second Avenue subway TBM Launch Box work site, between 91st and 95th, everyday. They have been working at this location M-Sa, give or take a few days, since April 2007.
This morning (10/13/09) when I crossed 2nd Avenue at 92nd Street there must have been 30 guys working above ground and an unknown number working “down in the hole,” as I call it, below the road decking.
If you don’t have time to visit the TBM Launch Box site please visit this blog site:
The Launch Box
where I have been documenting the progress since early 2007.
Ben
I appreciate being able to see all the work that’s being done beneath our feet.
I’m curious – are you, as an observer of this project everyday for about 2 and a half years, satisfied with the progress that’s been made in that time?
Have I been satisfied with the progress? Generally speaking, I would say Yes.
The work between 92nd and 95th has taken longer than planned because (I believe) both the MTA and the contractors greatly underestimated just how long it would take to relocate the maze of utility lines under Second Avenue.
Of course all of this could have been done much faster if they had worked around the clock or they had closed Second Avenue completely during the construction — but neither of these two options would have been tolerated by the community.
Look, I have just returned from Key Food. I didn’t see even one worker from 96th to 93rd. This has been the case for months. By 5 or 6 the site is more or less deserted. Maybe a few guys show up in the morning. But the project is a criminal waste of taxpayer money.
It’s my understanding that they are only working one shift at the site between 92nd and 95th at the moment — from 7 AM until 4PM M-F, with a limited amount of activity on Saturday. And most of the work is now taking place under the road decking at this point anyway.
I walked by the site at 7:40 AM today. They were loading trucks with soil from below at 2, or maybe 3 locations.
In other words, they’re dragging their feet.
Why are ten or so guys working only 40% of the time originally planned for the project? That is the question you should be asking the MTA, Ben. And, please, believe me, those ten or so guys have not even been working 40% of the time for at least two or three months. What is going on? Why has this project seemingly stalled everywhere, and not just between 92nd and 93rd? Something’s terribly wrong, and we deserve to have an answer.
[…] Ave. has repeated these claims for the last few years. “Remember,” commenter Peter Knox wrote over the weekend, “no work is being done on the SAS at all right now, nor has any substantive work been done […]