MTA Completes 63rd St Tunnel Rehab Project, Regular Roosevelt Island F Train Service Returns Today - MTA Bigwigs, RIOC Leadership & Cornell Tech Mascot Touchdown Greet Roosevelt Island F Train Riders At The Subway This Morning

Regular F train service for Roosevelt Island, as well as the Queensbridge/21 Street and Lexington/63rd Street, subway stations resumed today with completion this past weekend of the MTA's 63rd Street Tunnel Direct Fixation Project which started last August 28. 

To mark the occasion, MTA NYC Transit President Rich Davey together with MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp's (RIOC) Interim Leadership Team member Gerrald Ellis, Cornell Tech Dean Greg Morrisett 

and Cornell Mascot Touchdown greeted riders at the Roosevelt Island F train station this morning.

I spoke with Mr Davey and Mr Torres-Springer about the completion of 63rd Street Rehab Tunnel Project. According to Mr Torres-Springer:

We're always working on state of good repair across the system. It was important here that we rebuilt the track all the way from 63rd Street in Manhattan to Queensbridge in Queens. We rebuilt 25,000 feet of track. But in this case, in order to make sure that it was reliable for decades to come, we fully rebuilt it. We demolished what was there and we rebuilt the track, the third rail, the concrete foundation, the signals, all of it to make a more reliable ride for F Train riders.... The modern technology that we've used in the rebuild means that everyone will experience a smoother ride...

I asked Mr Davey about the breathing problems some riders experienced with dust in the air at the station. Mr Davey replied:

You wouldn't know it. We actually had our mobile wash team in here last night to clean up but because of the Piston effect of the train, some of the dust  in the tunnel itself was blown into the station so that'll subside relatively quickly. We'll have our wash teams back to do that but that's fairly common when you have such a complicated and large construction project.... we'll be out to clean it up and make sure that the stations are spic and span. 

I also spoke with Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler, who along with resident Matt Wald, played a key part in organizing and advocating for the Roosevelt Island community during the seven months of the 63rd Street Tunnel Rehab project.

Here's what they said.

Some comments about today's return of regular F Train service on Roosevelt Islander Instagram page:

• I really hope this means we will now have consistent regular full weekend service as well. Before this full shut down, it was the exception, not the norm, to have the train running in both directions on the weekends, and sometimes it wasn't running at all on the weekends.
• I am very proud that is running and grateful yet I am highly disappointed @rooseveltislandny @riocny @mta @nycmayor we could take a few hours to give the station a deep floor - steam cleaning and I say this respectfully. As a proud New Yorker, entering and breathing in the layers of debris this am was saddening . I would say I am sure volunteers like myself would mop and give it a good clean , however we do have the financial means to give it at least one grand opening mop ( remove some layers of durst everywhere) please take a moment to give our station a little CLEANING LOVE it would of been such a highlight to the grand opening
• I love that they’re standing there like they restored service with their own hands. Shout out to the construction workers who worked through the weekends for almost a year to end this travel nightmare.
• Thanks to the workers for making improvements that @rooseveltislander complains about and then you make those fixes but @rooseveltislander turns to complaining during the whole duration of the project!
• I was most excited to ride the F back from Manhattan today. I had just missed the last train and didn’t have to wait 20 minutes for the next one! It was great!

Channel 7 Eyewitness News reports:

From Roosevelt Island social media:

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A post shared by Weird R.I. (@weirdrooseveltisland)

NOT an April Fools joke! The F train has resumed normal operation btwn Queens & Manhattan, thanks to the successful completion of the 63rd St Track Project. A big shoutout to the hardworking team at the @MTA for making it happen.
You know it’s a big deal when Touchdown appears! pic.twitter.com/uvm3mS0VRU

— Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (@RIOCny) April 1, 2024

Touchdown visited Dean @GMorrisett at #CornellTech this morning to celebrate the Roosevelt Island #FTrain reopening! Thanks to President of @MTA Construction & Development @JTorresSpringer, President of @NYCTSubway Richard Davey & @RIOCny for making today a success! @Cornell pic.twitter.com/xzzPBxcR2o

— Cornell Tech (@cornell_tech) April 1, 2024

Here's what we accomplished:
🛤️Reconstructed new concrete roadbed and tracks.
⚡️Installed 25k feet of new third rail.
🚦Replaced cables, installed new signals, and more!

This work will ensure reliable service on the 63 St line for decades.

— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) April 1, 2024

After reporting on the resumption of F train service, I got ON one at Roosevelt Island….and promptly got stuck when “emergency brakes were activated.” The conductor shut power and train simply SAT. When it resumed didn’t sound right pulling into 57th. @nyctsubway @mta #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/7od4Lnd09N

— Andrew Siff (@andrewsiff4NY) April 1, 2024