Getting On Roosevelt Island F Subway Train Weekday Mornings Is Like Mission Impossible Says Rider - Resident Dreams Of Another Station For E & M Trains Being Built Under Southpoint Park

Getting on the F train on Roosevelt island in the morning is like a mission impossible.

— BigMan (@BigBoi58) February 11, 2016

The picture below shows NYC subways lines superimposed over map of Queens and Manhattan. You can see the subway lines that travel beneath Roosevelt Island.

• The F train and LIRR East Side Access Project use the 63rd street tunnel,
• N, Q and R Train use the 60th Street Tunnel and
• E and M Train use the 53 Street Tunnel.

See NYC’s subway lines superimposed over an aerial photo of the city https://t.co/wvs1AVvhJc pic.twitter.com/C29FYszL12

— 6sqft (@6sqft) December 29, 2015

A Roosevelt Island resident dreams of:

WOW! I dream of a day when we have access to the E/M subway lines under Southpoint Park. [I can dream can't I]. Maybe once Cornell is up and running.

How many people use the Roosevelt Island F Train subway station?

According to the MTA, the average annual weekday Roosevelt Island subway ridership statistics have been declining since 2010.

• Year 2009 - 5,816    
• Year 2010 - 7,870    
• Year 2011 - 6,576 
• Year 2012 - 6430 
• Year 2013 - 6,321
• Year 2014 - 5,998

 According to the MTA, the annual Roosevelt Island ridership statistics are:

• Year 2009 - 1,875,228
• Year 2010 - 2,580,003
• Year 2011 - 2,114,468 
• Year 2012 - 2,026,567
• Year 2013 - 1,948,925
• Year 2014 - 1,870,476

In 2011, the Second Avenue Sagas Blog had an interesting article and comments about improving Roosevelt Island subway by:

... exploring a new subway stop for the island. The 53rd St. tunnel passes directly underneath what will be the southern end of the Cornell campus. There’s no station right now, and I have no idea if one is even technically or economically feasible....

Capt Subway commented on Second Avenue Sagas:

The proper grading for a stop in the 53rd St tubes is simply not there. You need essentially a level grade for about 600 ft, or as close as possible to 600 ft. Besides there is ample capacity at the Roosevelt Island stop. Ample train capacity would be achieved by putting the “F” back in 53rd St, where it belongs, and routing the much more lightly loaded “M” into 63rd St. In so doing you’d eliminate all the ridiculously slow and delay generating switching moves at Queens Plaza & 36 St. Nights & weekends when the “M” quits the “F” could be be rerouted to 63rd St....

Click here for the full Second Avenue Sagas discussion.