MTA Planning Consecutive Weeknight Subway Shutdowns In 2012

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The MTA wants you to get a head start on your 2012 subway anxiety: according to the Daily News, the agency plans to periodically shut down a subway line through much of Manhattan so workers can inspect, fix and replace equipment like signals and switches. A line segment will stop running at about 10 p.m. each night until about 5 a.m. the next morning, and be closed for three or four consecutive weeknights!

According to their transit sources, the new strategy will probably be tested first on the Lexington Ave. line between 42nd St. to the north and either Bowling Green in lower Manhattan or Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, to the south. One official said the tradeoff will be better for commuters in the long run: “For a few nights, you won’t have service on a segment of a line but contrast that with work being done over far more nights and weekends with all the service diversions and train slowdowns.”

The MTA thinks this strategy will increase safety, save money, and avoid needing more "flaggers"—people who alert approaching motormen they’re approaching a work zone and need to slow down. The shutdowns will largely be limited to Manhattan below 42nd St. because there are parallel subway lines, although they may also end up stretching into Brooklyn too.

And the agency has one more trick up their sleeve they're considering for major construction work in eastern Queens between the Forest Hills/71st Ave. and Parsons Blvd. stations: instead of closing the Manhattan-bound track for eight weekends, the Manhattan-bound F-line track would be closed for nine straight days day and night.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on November 12, 2011 3:30 PM

Comments [rss]

Jay!

Believe it or not I actually think this is a good idea.

Thanassi Karageorgiou

The title of this post is exaggerated and misleading. I only clicked on it because you said "Subway" and not "line" shutdowns. I thought you meant the whole system.

Thanks for the mediocre newsflash.

kevd

I don't think that your lack of common sense is grounds to call the headline "exaggerated and misleading."

William K. Scurry Jr.

It may be a great f@#$ing idea, but I don't think anyone in any of the five boroughs doesn't trust the MTA to totally screw this up. Management has had ample opportunities to save face with their clientele (and shareholders), but has refused transparency and decency every time.

GentleGiant

How is telling everyone what they plan to do not transparent?

Adam Moreira

I had heard about this when Jay Walder took over the MTA, but I didn't think it would ever come to fruition (this was commonly done when Walder ran Transport for London), especially with Walder having left for China.

As for these shutdowns, in many cases, existing bus service can be beefed up.

Timon_8

"As for these shutdowns, in many cases, existing bus service can be beefed up."

Now THAT is hilarious!

whitecastlerock

Must
Torture
All

Dan

Take another line and get over it.

Brian Topping

Why don't these assclowns turn off the subway in the middle of the weekdays as often as they turn it off nights and weekends? Are some people more important than others?

Or do they just realize service is shit all night anyway and figure they may as well just do whatever they want?

Amber

Because way more people ride the subway in the middle of the weekday than on nights and weekends. Obviously.

Daniel

Don't let common sense stop the bitch and moan fest going on here!

PFOOMA

Oh look! It's a photo of a 7 train station.
The 7 has been screwed in weekends and nights for YEARS!
Quit the crap MTA. your not fixing shit!

Jeremiah

You have to understand - it wreaks havoc on the body's natural rhythms to sleep just a few hours here and a few hours there. For many decades MTA track workers have had to catch whatever sleep they could in between trains, supervisor inspections, etc. This new schedule will allow trackworkers to sleep off that shift starter pint of Old Granddad without interruption - thereby allowing them to return to their homes and day jobs refreshed and eager to return for another night's labor in the tunnels....

Eggcream

Track workers employed by MTA work hard for a living in miserable conditions. You probably have no idea what they really do but couldn't care less. You just wanted to spew some anti-worker garbage from the safety of your home far away from the damp, dark, rat-infested subway tunnels that men and women labor in to ensure the safety of millions of riders every day.

Sluggo1407

No offense, Eggcream, but I know very well what they do. I was having lunch across the street from the N train on Bay Parkway last week. The track workers (about 30 of them) were all standing outside the station, smoking, eating and drinking all the time I was in the restaurant. I went out of the house a few hours later and guess what? They were STILL standing outside the station, smoking, eating and drinking.