Wednesday, September 21, 2011

MTA Reports NO Queens Bound F Train Service To Roosevelt Island From 6 AM to 12 AM Until Further Notice - M Train Rerouted To Roosevelt Island

Image of Blurred, Moving F Train From Venus in Furs

Looks like there will be no Queens bound F Train Service to Roosevelt Island for most of the day until further notice. Last night, several readers alerted me to this notice sent from the MTA:
Sent: Tue, Sep 20, 2011 1:01 pm
Subject: F Line - Weekday and Weeknight Planned Service Change

6 AM to 12 midnight, every day until further notice
179 St-bound F trains run on the M from 47-50 Sts to Queens Plaza.
I was not able to confirm the information at the time but the MTA is now reporting:
F Jamaica-bound trains run via the M from 47-50 Sts to Queens Plaza
M Forest Hills-bound trains run via the F from 47-50 Sts to 21 St-Queensbridge
Days, 6 AM to 12 midnight, until further notice

F trains run express after Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Av then resume normal service.  

M trains resume normal service at 36 St, Queens.  

Take the F for the 5 Av/53 St, Lexington Av/53 St, Court Sq-23 St and Queens Plaza M Stations.

Take the M for the 57 St, Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge F Stations.

• Transfer between F and M trains at 47-50 Sts or Roosevelt Av.
Got that?

UPDATE 10:35 AM - A Roosevelt Island resident reported this to the Roosevelt Island 311 See Click Fix system:
9/20, evening, the Tram was running one car at 15-minute intervals despite a huge amount of people waiting on the Manhattan side to get home. No F train service to the Island and the Tram did NOT add cars or increase frequency of service. Please assign someone to monitor MTA problems so you can improve service to the Island via the Tram. Thank you

8 comments :

Jay Strubel said...

This has been on their site for the last 2 days. BUT, both days on the evening commute, after 6, the F train announced that it was a normal service train. I barely heard it while standing waiting for the M. Yesterday I was with someone who took a 6:15 M and it went to queens and skipped RI. So even though they say it's 6AM to midnight it might not be. 

RooseveltIslander said...

I looked on the MTA web page for F train service changes and did not see anything there until this morning.

Another reader told me that the info was listed not under F Train but the M Train.

Thanks for your info.

Chris Fuller said...

So basically the F becomes the M and the M becomes the F for that stretch of track?  Now that the trains have the digital readouts installed, I don't understand why they don't just literally change the letter on the train to reflect the line that it's actually running on.  That would be so much less confusing.

Jesse Webster said...

Terrible communication on the part of the MTA. For those of us who "reverse commute" to Queens and Long Island for work, announcing this change even two days prior and calling it "planned" is absurd. I commute to Jamaica to catch the LIRR, so changing an express service to local adds about 20 minutes to my normal 1.5 hour commute. Guess I'll have to bite the $60 bullet and upgrade my LIRR monthly pass to leave from Penn.

jstrubel said...

Just want to point out again, 6:30, the F train became the normal F train and stopped at Roosevelt Island. So this MTA announcement has some holes in it but you can't be sure what trains will switch back and when. When I called this morning and asked they said the no F trains are stopping on Roosevelt Island and that I must have been mistaken. Pretty sure I can tell the difference between and F and an M. Just fair warning to you evening commuters. 

Chris Fuller said...

Does anyone know the reason for this change?  What track work would require the F and M to trade places between Rockefeller Center and Queens?  If both branches of the track are still operating why would the trains need to divert from their normal route?
 

YetAnotherRIer said...

I don't think this was a planned service change (even though it is labeled as such). I do know that the F line had troubles two nights ago (Tuesday afternoon rush hour) and everything was rerouted through the 53rd St tunnel. The next day we had the announcement that the F and M switched between Rockefeller and Queens Plaza/21st St.

The only difference between the M and the F is that the latter is longer. I wonder if something happened to a station that required a shorter train? This service change (until further notice!) is puzzling.

Jesse Webster said...

It's likely a switching issue. NYCT has been doing work in the area around Queens Plaza. If you look at the track diagrams on NYCSubway.org, it's possible that the switch east of Queens Plaza is stuck in the "express" position, necessitating sending only Queens Blvd. express service through the 53rd St. Tunnel. Or it could also be a switch west of 36th St. in Queens with a similar result.