Second Ave. Sagas

South Ferry photos, ‘Problem Solvers’ and weekend service changes

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

The old South Ferry loop, mid-reactivation work. (Photo courtesy NYC Transit/ Marc A. Hermann)

I have a few odds and ends to address as the week draws to a close. We’ll start with South Ferry where the MTA has announced that the old loop station will be recommissioned. I wrote about the decision and its impact earlier today, and in the intervening hours, the MTA has released a new photoset of the current conditions at the old station. Check out the new gallery right here for scenes of the station in progress. An older set is available as well.

Next up, an announcement: My popular Q-and-A series at the Transit Museum returns on Wednesday, March 13 — or next Wednesday. The event kicks off at 6:30 p.m. and joining me will be Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers. With the recent fare hike fresh in the minds of New Yorkers, we’ll be talking about the intricate — and often opaque — funding streams that support New York City’s public transit systems. How much of the cost of running our subways and buses are covered by the fare-paying public? What role do Albany and City Hall play? How does the financing of this, the largest transit system in the country, compare to other large systems in cities coast to coast?

Doors open at 6, and the talk will run about an hour with some time for audience questions. Be sure to RSVP here with my smiling mug. I’ll see you in Downtown Brooklyn.

And now the numerous service advisories. Only the D, G, J and L trains are running normally this weekend.


From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, March 9 to 9 p.m. Sunday, March 10, uptown 1 trains skip 225th Street, 231st Street and 238th Street due to track panel installation north of 225th Street.


From 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, the last stop for some uptown 1 trains is 137th Street due to track panel installation north of 225th Street in the Bronx.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, there are no 2 trains between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 96th Street due to station work at 149th Street-Grand Concourse, track maintenance at 96th Street and tunnel lighting in the Harlem River tube. Downtown 2 trains operate local between 96th Street and Times Square-42nd Street.

Free shuttle buses operate:

  • Non-stop – Between 96th Street and 3rd Avenue-149th Street
  • Local – Between 96th Street and 3rd Avenue-149th Street

During this time, 2 trains will operate in two sections:

  • Between 241st Street and 3rd Avenue-149th Street
  • Between 96th Street and Flatbush Avenue


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, 3 service is suspended due to station work at 149th Street-Grand Concourse, track maintenance at 96th Street and tunnel lighting in the Harlem River tube. 2 trains make all 3 station stops between 96th Street and Franklin Avenue. 4 trains make all 3 station stops between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue. Free shuttle bus operates as a local between 96th Street and 148th Street.


From 11:30 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, 4 service is extended to New Lots Avenue and operates as a local in Brooklyn due to work on the 2, 3, 5 line.

(Overnights)
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9,
From 11:45 p.m. Saturday, March 9 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 10 and
From 11:45 p.m. Sunday, March 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11,
Downtown 4 trains run express from 125th Street to Grand Central-42nd Street due to track tie block work near 96th Street and 103rd Street.


From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 9 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, downtown 4 trains run local from Grand Central-42nd Street to Brooklyn Bridge due to signal work south of Grand Central-42nd Street.


From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, there are no 5 trains between East 180th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse due to station work at 149th Street-Grand Concourse, track maintenance at 96th Street and tunnel lighting in the Harlem River tube. Free shuttle bus operates across 149th Street between 3rd Avenue-149th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 train service operates in two sections:

  • Between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street
  • Between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and Bowling Green (every 20 minutes)

Note: 5 trains from Manhattan skip 138th Street-Grand Concourse. Take the 4 instead.


From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, downtown 5 trains run local from Grand Central-42nd Street to Brooklyn Bridge due to signal work south of Grand Central-42nd Street.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, downtown 6 trains run express from 125th Street to Grand Central-42nd Street due to track tie block work near 96th Street and 103rd Street.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11 (and the next two weekends), there is no 7 train service between Times Square-42nd Street and Queensboro Plaza due to Flushing Line CBTC work. 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, March 8 to 5 a.m. Saturday, March 9, uptown A trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to 125th Street due to scraping and painting of track ceiling at 81st Street.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9,
From 11:45 p.m. Saturday, March 9 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 10 and
From 11:45 p.m. Sunday, March 10 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11,
Queens-bound A trains run express from Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts to Utica Avenue due to platform edge and tile work at Utica Avenue.


From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, downtown C trains run express from Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts to Utica Avenue due to platform edge and tile work at Utica Avenue.

(Overnights)
From 12:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9,
From 12:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, March 10 and
From 12:15 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11,
Queens-bound E trains run express from Queens Plaza to Forest Hillls-71st Avenue due to ADA work at Forest Hills-71st Avenue.


From 11:15 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, Brooklyn-bound F trains are rerouted via the M line after 36th Street, from Queens to 47th-50th Sts due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for SAS.


Beginning 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 9 and continuing for the next 5 months until August 2013, M trains will bypass Central Avenue in both directions due to station rehabilitation work at Central Avenue.


From 11:45 p.m. Friday, March 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, March 11, Brooklyn-bound N trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track maintenance at 8th Street.


From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, March 9 and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 10, Q trains are extended to Ditmars Blvd. in order to augment service between Manhattan and Queens.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, Brooklyn-bound R trains run express from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street due to track maintenance at 8th Street.


From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, Queens-bound R trains run express from Queens Plaza to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to track renewal north of 36th Street.

(42nd Street Shuttle) (Overnights)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, March 9, Sunday, March 10, and Monday, March 11, 42nd Street S shuttle operates overnight due to weekend work on the 7 line.

Comments

33 responses to “South Ferry photos, ‘Problem Solvers’ and weekend service changes”

  1. Marc Shepherd

    Where is the new entrance they’re building? Are they punching a new hole through the wall, or are they just renovating an entrance that was formerly in use?

    Reply
    1. John-2

      When they built new South Ferry, they put a maintenance door in at the fare control mezzanine level to the old station, basically in the same place where the temporary entrance to SF was placed when the Ferry terminal was being rebuilt to put the original SF headhouse inside the building.

      That was at the front of the old station. Part of the current work involves removal of the door and opening up an entrance way large enough to handle passenger loads on a regular basis. It’s not going to be an ideal situation, especially when a train comes in just after a boat’s started discharging passengers into the station, and the front car on the downtown 1 is going to be jammed during PM rush hour. But since the MTA’s still not sure what the timetable on lower SF’s reactivation is, it beats walking to Rector for the next 2-3 years.

      Reply
      1. Jerrold

        I just hope you’re right about the new one coming back after 2-3 years. One real danger is that of the politicians deciding that the new deep station “was a very expensive mistake, and that therefore we should just act as if it had never been built altogether”.

        Hey, imagine our descendants having to use a 200-year-old loop station? Well, at least Phase 4 of the SAS will probably open for service at that time.

        Reply
        1. Frank B

          Woah! Phase 4 by 2113? Easy There, Speedy! We need to conduct some environment studies, make sure there are no spotted owls living down in those subway tunnels, God forbid we break one of their eggs. We’ve got to look at cost-benefit analyses, make sure that we don’t build a passageway that only 5 PEOPLE will use an hour, scramble some more numbers…Get some coffee… Yep, We’ll be starting stage 4 by 2120 if all goes well; Senator Chelsea Clinton VI has just secured some more funding…

          On the bright side, Smith – 9th Street Station will be just about ready to open by 2056!

          Reply
          1. Someone

            On the other hand, the A to the Rockaways may just be ready for service in 2032!

            Reply
          2. Someone

            Anyway, I think 2032 is a more realistic date for the SAS phase IV.

            Reply
            1. Someone

              There are 1377 days left before Second Avenue Subway Phase I opens.

              Reply
        2. Larry Littlefield

          “One real danger is that of the politicians deciding that the new deep station “was a very expensive mistake, and that therefore we should just act as if it had never been built altogether”.

          It was a very expensive mistake. But the politicians aren’t that smart.

          Reply
          1. al

            The mistake was that the new South Ferry was too damn shallow for a cross harbor link to Staten Island. They should had used the open pit of the WTC and Deutsche Bank building to build the connections north of Rector St. It would had dropped the tunnel crown 25′.

            Reply
  2. D in the B

    So why is the old station able to be functional with minimal hassle but the soon to be $1.1 Billion new station is a total mess?
    American taxpayers are the biggest stooges in the world…

    Reply
    1. VLM

      Based on your comments, I’m shocked you even know how to turn on a computer and browse the Internet.

      Reply
    2. Frank B

      We’ve been over this. South Ferry doesn’t have a tunnel to Brooklyn, yes? Only the IRT Locals terminate in Manhattan using loop stations, the IRT 7th Avenue Local, (1 Train) which had previously, and now again turns via the South Ferry Loop, and the IRT Lexington Avenue Local (6 Train) which turns via the old City Hall Station Loop.

      When Sandy hit and flooded the subway, most of the water ‘settled’ in the much deeper East River tunnels rather than in the stations themselves; the new South Ferry Station in this instance had the unfortunate distinction of not only being a station terminal with no tunnel for the torrents of water coming in, but was also extremely close to the harbor, and comparatively deep.

      Now, the deepest point in the complex in this instance was not a tunnel unfortunately, and not the South Ferry Loop right below the surface, but the new, very deep South Ferry Station. This is why it was heavily flooded whilst South Ferry Loop came out of the equation relatively unscathed.

      Reply
      1. John-2

        Upper South Ferry drained towards Rector, because the tracks dip to allow the (original 1908) loop tracks to Bowling Green to pass overhead. But before reaching Rector the seawater found a new downhill path — the connector to lower SF. Basically the obsolete 104-year-old station craftily took several million gallons of Upper New York Bay and dumped it all on the 3 1/2-year-old whippersnapper that took its job, and as a result, is now going to (at least temporarily) get its job back.

        Finding an water escape outlet/high volume pumps for lower SF in the event of any future flood will have to be part of the MTA’s planning. And you can’t even punch a hole into the floor and let the water drain into the Joralemon or Montague tunnels, because the station’s so deep it’s beneath those East River tunnels (we’ll just have to wait until about the year 2700 for SAS Phase V — the Hanover Square to Red Hook connector — before there would ever be river tunnel tracks lower than new SF to drain flood water into).

        Reply
        1. D.R. Graham

          Exactly! Well put! And what everyone needs to understand if not for that sacrifice of the new station the old one would not be reopening in April.

          Reply
  3. Alek

    Why is the R running express from Queens Plaza to 71st st since the work is at 71st. Thr R should start express at Roosevelt ave since there is a crossover there.

    Reply
    1. Someone

      Good point.

      The switch at Roosevelt isn’t being manned right now, so the next place to turn trains at a manned switch would be at 71 Avenue.

      Reply
  4. Chet

    Okay, so their bringing the old SF station back up to snuff…what happens to it in let’s say two years when new SF is back and running? Does the MTA just shut it down again? What about letting a Lexington Ave line stop there? Is that feasible?

    I know all the negatives about old SF- having dealt with it for decades, but being able to catch a 5 train right off the boat wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

    Reply
    1. Kevin

      While that sounds like a nice idea, I think the crowding along the Lex is bad enough. Having to slow trains through the loop and/or making a stop where only half the doors on the train can open would be a huge nuisance.

      Reply
      1. Berk32

        Also I think the R142s wouldn’t line up with the gap fillers

        Reply
        1. D.R. Graham

          The R142s can line up with the gap fillers. The right side of a R142 lines up just the same as a R62. It was done before. The last time it was done was September 2002 for the ceremonious first ride to South Ferry after the reopening of that section of tunnel and track. They used the cleaner newer R142 for the Governor and press.

          Reply
          1. Someone

            The R142 and the R62 have different door configurations, but those differences are minute.

            Reply
            1. D.R. Graham

              Yes they do but the right side of a R142 matches up very closely to the R62 and that’s all that matters when it comes to the gap fillers.

              Reply
        2. Berk32

          The first and 5th cars of the R142s may line up with the R62s – but the middle 3 are offset – and since the gap fillers at south ferry aren’t as wide as the ones at 14th st – you’d be giving train engineers an even smaller window to stop (slowing down service even more)

          Reply
          1. Someone

            The doors in the middle cars of the R142 are only about 1-2 feet apart from the corresponding ones on the middle cars of the R62. But that’s still a significant distance for gap fillers, and that’s also the reason why platform screen doors will not be installed on the 7 subway extension at first.

            Reply
          2. D.R. Graham

            The doors on the B cars of the R142 which are cars 2 thru 4 and 7 thru 9 actually line up very closely with the doors on the A cars. Cars 1, 5, 6 and 10 and they match up very closely to the R62s. The gap fillers are South Ferry are wider than the doors on both the R62s and R142s. The length and width of each train matches up the same so that the gap fillers would have no problem extending to each car body. With the gap fillers having a longer length than the door ways on each car the R142s can easily be sent to South Ferry without a problem.

            As for the 5 being extended. That will never happen because it would be a detriment to 1 service as well as Eastern Parkway service in Brooklyn.

            As for the platform doors. Even with the coming of the R142As and new R188s being prepared to run on the 7 line. Platform doors have not been explored by the authority at a high level for consideration to start taking place.

            Reply
    2. John-2

      The problem with the Lex stopping there is it’s only possible at the times you least need it to stop there — The 5 still uses the inner loop to turn when it’s going to Bowling Green, so it could switch to the outer loop and stop there. But during rush hours when most people would use it, the 5 goes to Flatbush Avenue, and there’s not enough track capacity between Brooklyn Bridge and Bowling Green to extend the 6 south during rush hours.

      So the only alternative would be restoring the two-car BG-SF shuttle, and by the time you go downstairs at BG and back up to the shuttle platform and wait for the lone train to arrive and depart, you could have walked it from Battery Place to South Ferry. About the only reason to keep it open would be as an (IRT only) adjunct to the Transit Museum, though even then you’d have to be able to clear all the cars out periodically if the loop had to be used for diversions by the 2/3/4/5 trains.

      Reply
    3. Someone

      What Lex Avenue Line service?

      Do you mean cut the 5 back to Bowling Green at all times so as to serve this station? Because it only serves this loop during weekends and weekday evenings.

      Reply
  5. Abba

    Also the H is running normal this weekend .As well the Franklin shuttle.And the Times Square shuttle.

    Reply
    1. Someone

      Haven’t you heard? Shuttles are now second class citizens.

      Reply
    2. Jerrold

      An ADDITION of service to a line IS considered a service change.
      The 42nd St. Shuttle was running at all times this weekend, because the #7 was not running into Manhattan.

      Reply
  6. Jerrold

    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l…..4L4xav9JxO

    At least now we know how our fare increase money gets spent.

    I know that the Post can be considered a sensational source,
    but this story is on other websites as well.

    Reply
  7. Jimmy

    This map is very helpful for weekend changes, but it is uploaded a little late.

    http://subwayweekender.wordpress.com/

    Reply
    1. Jimmy

      Oh never-mind, you already know

      Reply

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