Service Advisories

You’ve got vintage trains on Sunday, vintage buses next week and a whole host of service changes in between. Enjoy the weekend.

From 3:45 a.m. Saturday, December 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, December 9, 2 trains operate in two sections due to track panel installation north of Bronx Park East.

• Between Flatbush Avenue and East 180th Street*
• Between East 180th Street and 241st Street

*2 trains are rerouted to Dyre Avenue at East 180th Street during this time.

From 3:45 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, December 8 and from 11 p.m. Saturday, December 8 to 8 a.m. Sunday, December 9, 2 trains replace 5 shuttle trains between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street. Note: 5 weekend service between Dyre Avenue and Bowling Green is unaffected.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday, December 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 10, Coney Island-bound D trains skip 167th Street, 161st Street and 155th Street due to track maintenance work at 167th Street.

From 10:45 p.m. Friday, December 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 10, there are no G trains between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avs due to installation of electrical components north of Greenpoint Avenue. G trains operate between Church Avenue and Bedford-Nostrand Avs. Free shuttle buses operate between Bedford-Nostrand Avs. and Court Square making all G station stops.

From 5:30 a.m. Saturday, December 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, December 9, there are no J trains between Crescent Street and Jamaica Center due to structural steel repair and painting north of Cypress Hills. J trains operate between Chambers Street and Crescent Street. Free shuttle buses operate between Crescent Street and 121st Street, then connect to the E at Jamaica-Van Wyck, where service to/from Sutphin Blvd. and Jamaica Center is available.

From 10:45 p.m. Friday, December 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 10, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Sheepshead Bay to Kings Highway due to track panel installation south of Kings Highway.

From 6 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, December 8, there will be no R train service between 34th Street and Whitehall Street, due to signal restoration in the Montague tunnel. Customers may use the 1 train between Times Square and Rector Street or the 4 or 5 trains between Union Square (N, Q) and Bowling Green as alternatives.

Over a month after the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy swamped the BMT’s Whitehall St. station, R train service to Lower Manhattan will return at 6 a.m. on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday night. There is, however, a key twist though as Whitehall will be serviced by trains that run only between Queens and Manhattan. The Montague St. Tunnel — and thus R train service into and out of Brooklyn — remains shuttered.

“The resumption of service to the Whitehall Street station will restore a vital link to midtown’s west side for Staten Islanders and also ease crowding along the Lexington Avenue Line,” the Governor said in a statement.

Despite this good news, the MTA is issuing word of tempered expectations. Currently, only one escalator at Whitehall St. will be in service as the escalator at the Stone St. entrance remains out of service. The two escalators at the southern end of the station sustained “extensive damage” but one has been repaired. The MTA warns that customers who cannot climb stairs should continue to use Rector St.

To get Whitehall St. station back into service, MTA workers had to repair and replace track, third rail, communications systems, pumping equipment and the electrical systems. Similar work must still take place inside the Montague St. Tunnel. “Transit workers continue to work around the clock to bring the Montague Tube back online,” MTA head Joe Lhota said, “which will complete the R Line link from lower Mnhattan to Downtown Brooklyn.”

According to the Governor’s office, the Montague St. Tunnel should be reactivated by the end of the month. Workers still have to replace hundreds of signal relays, switches and electrical equipment. That official timeline has been pushed back from mid-December due to what New York 1 termed longer-than-expected repairs. The adjoining South Ferry station on the 1 train remains closed until further notice as it sustained serious destruction during the flood.

At this point in the storm recovery, incremental progress is all that we can expect, and once the Montague St. Tunnel returns, we likely won’t have another update for a while. The A train across Broad Channel will remain out of service until the trestle is rebuilt, and it’s currently unclear how long it will take to rebuild the 1 train’s South Ferry terminal. Brooklyn riders will continue to be frustrated, but it sounds like an end is in sight to the pain as the Montague St. Tunnel will race 2013 to see which gets here first.

The Weekender, the MTA’s Vignelli-designed digital weekend map, is now an app for Android phones. Long available for iOS devices, The Weekender is now at the Google Play store right here. It comes equipped with updated service changes, neighborhood maps, and, of course, Vignelli’s map.

“We want as many people as possible, regardless of what type of device they use, to have information about planned service changes while on the go,” Paul Fleuranges, the MTA’s Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications, said of the new release. “This app makes it easier to use the subway on the weekend because it takes away the frustration that comes with not knowing about service changes before you get to the station.”

Meanwhile, we have weekend service changes!

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, 2 trains run local in both directions between 34th Street-Penn Station and Chambers Street due to switch renewal north of Utica Avenue.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, there is no 3 train service in Brooklyn due to switch renewal north of Utica Avenue. 3 service operates between 148th Street and 14th Street. Customers may take 2 trains between 14th Street and Franklin Avenue. Free shuttle buses operate in two segments between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue:

• Local between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue
• Nonstop between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue, then local between Sutter Avenue and New Lots Avenue.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, there are no 4 trains between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue due to switch renewal north of Utica Avenue. 4 service operates between Woodlawn and Franklin Avenue, and via the 2 between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. Free shuttle buses operate in two segments between Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue:

• Local between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue
• Nonstop between Franklin Avenue and Sutter Avenue and local between Sutter Avenue and New Lots Avenue.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Saturday, December 1, 207th Street-bound A trains run express from 125th Street to 168th Street due to scraping and painting of ceiling at 125th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m., Saturday, December 1 and Sunday, December 2, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, F trains replace A service between Rockaway Blvd and Lefferts Blvd. due to work on the Culver Viaduct and tunnel lighting installation.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, December 1 and Sunday, December 2 there are no C trains between Manhattan and Brooklyn due to work on the Culver Viaduct and tunnel lighting installation. C trains operate between 168th Street and West 4th Street and are rerouted via the F between West 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, the last stop.

• To/from Spring Street, Canal Street and Chambers Street, customers may take the A or E instead. Transfer between trains at West 4th Street.
• To/from Fulton Street and High Street, customers may take the A instead.
• To/from Brooklyn, customers may take the A or F instead. F trains are rerouted via the C between Jay Street/MetroTech and Euclid Avenue.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, Coney Island-bound D trains skip 167th Street, 161st Street and 155th Street due to track maintenance work at 167th Street.

From 9:45 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, 205th Street-bound D trains skip 182nd -183rd Sts due to ADA work at Kingsbridge Road.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, D trains run local in both directions between 36th Street and DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn due to work on the Culver Viaduct and tunnel lighting installation.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, there are no F trains between Jay Street/MetroTech and 18th Avenue due to work on the Culver Viaduct and tunnel lighting installation. F service operates in two sections:

• Between 179th Street and Jay Street/MetroTech, and rerouted via the C to/from Euclid Avenue*
• Between Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and 18th Avenue

Free shuttle buses operate in three sections:

• Between Jay Street/MetroTech and 18th Avenue, making stops at Church Avenue and Ditmas Avenue only.
• Between Jay Street/MetroTech and 4th Ave-9th St., making stops at Bergen Street, Carroll Street and Smith-9th Sts.
• Between 4th Ave-9th St and Church Avenue, making stops at 7th Avenue, 15th Street-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway.

*From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. nightly, the F operates to/from Lefferts Blvd., replacing A shuttle service.

At all times until late fall/early winter 2012, F and G trains skip Smith-9th Sts. in both directions due to station rehabilitation. Customers may use the B61 for connections between Smith-9th Sts. station and 4th Avenue-9th Street station, where F, G and R trains are available. Customers may also use the B57 bus for connections between Smith-9th Sts. station and Carroll Street station, where F and G trains are available. – It’s “late fall” now….

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 30 and 5 a.m. Monday, December 3, there are no G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts and Church Avenue due to work on the Culver Viaduct and tunnel lighting installation. G service operates in two sections:

• Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Aves
• Between Bedford-Nostrand Aves and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts., every 20 minutes.

Today’s subway service additions are brought to you by the letters A and N, and it’s mostly good news. Even as the city some swimmies.

Beginning on Sunday, the MTA will resume A train service to Howard Beach and then send a shuttle bus to Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway. The shuttle will run until the North Channel Bridge and subway infrastructure through Broad Channel are rebuilt. MTA and state officials called the damage to the line “absolutely unprecedented” and say it will “take months” to restore full service.

Still, the Governor wanted to stress some transit service for the area. “The people of the Rockaway Peninsula were especially hard-hit by this storm, and restoring transportation service to them and to Howard Beach is a priority for my administration,” Governor Cuomo said. “This combination of subway and bus service will provide them with immediate transit relief while the entire system is rebuilt.”

Meanwhile, a short time ago, Transit started running N trains along the Sea Beach line in Brooklyn again. This section of track from 59th St. to Coney Island suffered severe flooding and damage due to the storm surge. According to the Governor, the MTA had to “replace and inspect 10 train stop mechanisms, 20 relays and other vital train detection equipment.” The N is now running its full route from Astoria to Coney Island.

Cuomo’s office also provided a brief update on the remaining service outages: The R train’s Montague St. tunnel is dry, and crews are working to assess and repair the damage. Crews are working to get the 1 down to Rector St., another station that suffered water damage from the flood, and are also working on J/Z service south of Chambers St. There is no timeline for the resumption of any of these remaining services.

And consider this your Friday service advisory post. There are no other weekend diversions or changes as the MTA has its resources focused on restoring full subway service in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

As the MTA and TWU duke it out over hurricane pay days, the authority has some good news for riders: The L train has returned. Joe Lhota just announced via Twitter that “the L train is back.” It will be providing limited service, running once every ten minutes and making all stops between 8th Ave. and Rockaway Parkway. Trains will likely be quite crowded as service levels have to catch up to demand at first.

In a subsequent press release, Transit explained the extent of the damage to the 14th St. tube, which had been without service for 10 days. The tunnel had flooded to a depth of 15 feet for 3400 feet — or the length of its span from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Crews had to repair “severe damage” to the stationary pumping, signaling and communications system. The first trains rolled through today though at 3 p.m.

With that announcement, service through Manhattan has returned on every subway line, and the only areas still lacking in service are the A train to the Rockaways, the Montague St. Tunnel and the N train’s Sea Beach Line. Those three areas suffered extensive damage from Sandy’s storm surge, and there is “no timetable for the return of service” to either the Rockaways or the Sea Beach line. Crews are pumping out the Montague St. Tunnel, and Transit says it is still pushing forward on 24/7 efforts to restore all services.

As of Monday morning, the L train tubes were still flooded with water. (Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin)

The ride home for millions of workers on Monday night was among the more painful in recent memories. Heading west of the city, New Jersey-bound travelers found hours-long lines at Port Authority as the buses couldn’t handle the masses of folks who usually take New Jersey Transit. Heading southeast out of Manhattan was a challenge too as an accident at Atlantic Avenue snarled IRT service and led to crush conditions on the BMT. With service still far from 100 percent, New Yorkers had to show patience in their travels.

As Tuesday — Election Day — dawns, ever so slowly, things are improving. Today, the A, B, C and Q trains will see even more service. The A will again make stops to 207th St. in Manhattan, and the C will terminate at 168th St. The B train will be revived, running between Bedford Park Boulevard in the Bronx and Kings Highway in Brooklyn, and the Q will terminate as far south as Brighton Beach.

Additionally, Transit is looking for ways to improve 1 train service as well. With switches being called into heavy duty, the agency says it is “studying ways to adjust signals for the 1 train in lower Manhattan that will allow them to turn around faster, improving the frequency of service and reducing crowding.” On Monday morning, trains were very full, and with South Ferry out of commission for the foreseeable future, adjusting service levels is a priority. Now, all that is the good news.

The bad news is that L and G trains — missing on Monday — will not return quite yet. The MTA again stressed tonight that “the top subway priority is now restoring service on the G and L trains through northwest Brooklyn, where alternate service on the J and M trains was extremely crowded.” Earlier in the day, in an interview on WNYC cut short by a call from the governor, MTA Chairman Joe Lhota voiced similar sentiments and promised trains “soon.” “You’ll get the G soon,” he said. “I can’t tell you when, but you’ll get the G real soon.”

Hope and vague timelines aside, the MTA says that the G train has been cleared of water from Newtown Creek. With so much potentially polluted and damaging floodwaters in the tunnel though, crews have to inspect and repair the signal system before trains can run again. The L train tunnel, as the above photo shows, is still under water. Extra B62 buses will run tomorrow until services are restored, but that’s a small consolation for a neighborhood largely cut off from its transit connections.

And so we’ll do it again this morning as things inch slowly toward a new normal, if not an equilibrium, before the long-term repairs kick off. Limited PATH service returns in a few hours, and hopefully, those L and G trains won’t be too far behind.

In the aftermath of Sandy, debris mars the mezzanine of the new South Ferry Station. (Photo MTA New York City Transit / Leonard Wiggins)

For me, Sunday marked the seventh day in a row that I haven’t set foot in Manhattan. Since living outside of New York City for college, that’s a personal record borne out of necessity. I could work from home for the past week and, far from the waterfront, never lost power. I consider myself quite lucky as I see the city coming together to help those in the Rockaways, Coney Island and Red Hook who will have to rebuild their lives, homes and businesses.

As Monday dawns, my enforced isolation in Brooklyn comes to an end, and the same is true for many New Yorkers the city over. Subway service is operating amongst the borough again, and although service will be far from perfect, it’s enough to lead us all back to our offices. But just how bad should we expect that Monday morning commute to be? That’s the key question.

State officials are hedging their bets. On Sunday afternoon, nearly a full day before Monday’s rush hour commute, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota issued public pleas for patience. “Progress has been very good. As of [Sunday] morning, trains were running between Brooklyn and Manhattan through the two tunnels and two bridges,” Governor Cuomo said. “South Ferry, which at one time was a large fish tank, has now been pumped dry. This is not to say that service will be normal tomorrow. Service will not be normal tomorrow, and we need you to understand that before you enter the system.”

The MTA was even more strident. While 80 percent of the subway network is back in service, MTA officials warned that the system will carry less than 80 percent of its normal capacity. And with gas supplies running low and schools open again, the subways will be quite crowded come the morning. “We are in uncharted territory here in bringing the system back,” Lhota said. “It’s very different from what we had in Irene because of the amount of damage and the saltwater in our system. We will do everything we can to get everyone there. I just ask everyone to be understanding, and also try to think about flex time and try to leave a little bit earlier or a little bit later.”

Specifically, the MTA has found that “the system suffered more corrosion than was apparent on first inspection, and problems that appear when the system is re-energized are being addressed as necessary.” Low-capacity switches are being asked to carry more of a load than they were designed to, and trains may run less frequently than usual. Rush hour may be messy.

Still, as of Sunday evening, service offerings for the Monday rush hour were coming into view. Late in the day, the MTA resumed running Q trains from Ditmars Boulevard, local in Manhattan, over the Manhattan Bridge and via the BMT Brighton Line to Kings Highway. E trains resumed service from World Trade Center to Parson/Archer via 53rd St. a little less than an hour ago. For the morning, 1 trains, which are currently terminating at 14th St., are likely to be extended to Rector St. They can use the old South Ferry loop to turn around but will not be stopping at that station. With trains now operating over the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges and through three of the six East River tunnels between Brooklyn and Manhattan, straphangers can get to their destinations one way or another.

But there is still some bad news. The South Ferry station appears to be heavily damaged, and there is no timetable for service restoration there. Similarly, the R via Whitehall isn’t an option right now. The L train tunnel was flooded “wall to wall,” according to Lhota, and the G train has suffered a similar fate. There is no estimated time for service to resume.

In the Rockaways, the A train connection is down for the count as well. The North Channel Bridge sustained serious damage, and the tracks and infrastructure in Broad Channel were severely damaged too. The MTA is going to truck 20 subway cars to the Rockaways in order to run limited shuttles from Beach 116th to Mott Ave. where shuttle buses will carry customers to the Howard Beach station, but again, no timeline has been established for this service.

So that’s where we are. The system is slowly coming back, but Monday is going to be a big test as millions head back to work. Leave extra time for travel, and be prepared for a slow journey to Manhattan and beyond.