A funny thing happened on the way to December: After an initial flurry of concern and media coverage over the MTA’s decision to shutter a subway trunk line overnight a few times a year, FASTRACK has become a part of the way we live. Last week, the West Side IRT went down for four nights, and this week, the 8th Ave. lines are re-routed during the overnight hours. Yet, the complaints, at least in the media, have disappeared. I’m sure those who suffer re-routes and longer rides home late at night still aren’t happy, but that’s the price we as a city seem willing to pay.
Stating tonight at 10 p.m. and running each night this week until 5 a.m., Eighth Ave. subway service will be suspended between 59th St.-Columbus Circle and either Jay St.-MetroTech or the World Trade Center station. Instead, A trains will run on the Sixth Ave. line south of 59th St. making local stops via the F line to Jay St. E trains will run via the Sixth Ave. local as well, terminating at 2nd Ave. C service to Manhattan will end at 9:30 p.m., and Brooklyn-bound C trains will run until 10 p.m.
It is always strange to see no subways west of 7th Avenue, but with plenty of alternate routes, those folks coming to and from Chelsea and Hells Kitchen will have options for their longer walks home. The last FASTRACK of the year will run from November 5-9 on the East Side, and the program is set to expand beyond Manhattan in 2013.
1 comment
I think the reason that there have been relatively few complaints is that the communication has been comparably great. I’ve never seen service changes before where they pepper the stations with updated maps! I’ve also heard announcements from conductors on connecting trains hours before service ends for the night which is very helpful.
I think the success of this program is down to the fact that the service changes are so simple (no trains are skipping local stops in just the uptown direction, for instance) and they’re able to print maps to show people exactly where the service changes are, and where they can go instead.