Let's C Which Subway Line Is Worst!

Flickr user afagen

As much as we complain about the G train, we may not be giving the Upper West Side its due. According to the 13th annual Straphangers Campaign "State of the Subways" report, the C was the worst train in the city for the second year in the row. Though you're more likely to find a seat on the C during rush hour, it's dirty, performs next to worse on in-car announcements, and breaks down more often than the average line. Here are some other findings:

The 7 train won best train in the system the second year in a row, far surpassing other lines on cleanliness and frequency of breakdowns.

The L train tied for most clean, but you're much less likely to get a seat during rush hour.

Surprise: cars on the G train break down the most often.

The car breakdown rate improved 26% since 2008, and the car cleanliness rate is up 4%.

The J and Z lines had the best regularity of service.

The Campaign explains in a statement, "We often hear from riders and neighborhood groups. They will say, 'Our line has got to be worst.' ...For riders and officials on lines receiving a poor level of service, our report will help them make the case for improvements, ranging from increases in service to major repairs." The report counters the MTA's own report that says service is declining., but the Straphangers Campaign says they were only able to test three out of six measures "due to changes in reporting by New York City Transit." Gene Russianoff of the Campaign also asked the Post, “The subways got better in the last half of 2009. But how will they fare in the wake of tens of millions of cuts in 2010?" They should be fine with all the MetroCard fares they'll be rolling in.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on October 6, 2010 4:05 PM

Comments [rss]

inoyourider

A/B/C/D sucks.

Irregular, long waits.

Limited service, LOTS of construction and changes/delays.

Late night its quicker to walk.

diablofreak

trains come within 4 minutes of each other after none came for the past 30 minutes.

it happens a lot on the lexington line. it's cool hearing the moans in the trains when those douches announce that the train you end up boarding would be going express to god-knows-where, sending everyone back out to the station in the next local station, where you have no choice but to get out.

Tower18

In what fantasy world does the F train come every 4 minutes during rush hour?

Also, you've left open a bold tag.

melanarchy

In the world where you redefine "rush hour" to mean "the time when 2 F trains come within 4 minutes of each other".

Wza

D line sucks.

Ed

My usual line is the 4/5, and it looks like they called it correctly. Its really overcrowded, clean, and comes frequently but inconsistently. And there are tons of announcements, to the point where its annoying.

Dogsbody

I agree about the annoying hyper-frequency of announcements. The worst part is that the automated announcements are ALSO displayed on the scrolling display screen whenever the audio announcement is made.

It's annoying if you just want to see what the time is, or what the next stop is, but EVERY SINGLE cycle through the usual scrolling display is interrupted by a reminder that groping is not OK, or that we should report suspicious packages...

24gotham

The C Train is horrible because the rail cars date back to the mid 1960s. The seats however are quite comfortable.

manytimes

True, I prefer it over a B on the same tracks.

Dan

C train is horrible. I always get pissed when I'm waiting on the A-C-E and i pull up a C. Sometimes the riders perfectly mimic the car, too, and it's a bizarre scene like when Jack Donaghy had to work on the 12th floor of 30 Rock. Or the waiting room to hell on Beetlejuice.