The MTA says the F and M subway lines will swap to improve service starting Monday, with M trains set to stop at the Queensbridge-21st Street station currently served by the F line.
Signs are now up, and even the permanent signage is being changed. Customer service ambassadors were busy handing out fliers Wednesday to alert commuters about the switch, which is being done to alleviate train congestion.
What You Need To Know
- The MTA says the F and M subway lines will swap to improve service starting Monday
- F and M trains currently contribute to a chokepoint at Queens Plaza that forces trains to wait while others pass, but the MTA says swapping their weekday route will eliminate that problem and reduce delays for 1.2 million riders
- The swap will mostly affect stations in western Queens, Roosevelt Island and the first few stops on each line in Manhattan, but will resume their usual routes south of Rockefeller Center
- The MTA says this will also benefit E and R riders because those lines currently also compete with the F and M
- The F and M swap will only be in effect weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Overnight and weekend service will remain the same
“There’s a merge at Queens Plaza, which is a chokepoint, which creates all kinds of crossing and throughput problems, which actually causes a ton of delays,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “It’s going to increase reliability for 1.2 million riders who use these trains every day.”
Currently, the F goes through the 63rd Street tunnel and essentially crosses the E, M and R; the M goes through the 53rd Street tunnel and must also compete with other lines and tracks. The MTA says the trains switching tunnels should eliminate those issues.
“If you’re heading towards Queens on an F train, you could leave this station at Queensbridge and be stopped ahead waiting for an E train to cross in front of you,” Bill Amarosa, New York City Transit executive vice president of subways, said. “With the service change on Monday, that type of delay is a thing of the past.”
It means several stops on each line will change.
The M will stop at Queensbridge-21st Street, then Roosevelt Island, 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue, and 57th Street.
The F will now stop at Queens Plaza, Court Square, Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street, and Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. The southbound service starting at Rockefeller Center will stay the same, but may inconvenience some riders.
The MTA believes people will eventually get used to the service change. The F and M swap will only be in effect weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Overnight and weekend service will remain the same.
