Fear and loathing in the subways: F and M train riders stressed over route changes

A big change to the city’s subway map went into effect on Monday, leaving many riders uneasy about their commutes.

The F and M lines have traded East River tunnels between Manhattan and Queens, which affects travel at eight stations. It’s a relatively minor alteration to New York City’s sprawling subway system, but it’s one the MTA says will unclog a train bottleneck that strains service on not just the F and M lines, but also the E and the R.

But while transit officials see the switch as a major improvement for straphangers, Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler said he feared it would cause mass confusion among his neighbors.

The island will now be served by the M instead of the F line most of the week. But overnights and on weekends, the MTA says, the lines will revert back to the old route map — meaning riders like Krikler will need to check their watches if they’re heading home late.

“I hope this change does bring us a much-needed improvement to our subway service on the island,” Krikler told Gothamsit. “Personally, I am concerned that a lot of people are going to end up in the wrong place at nighttime because this service switches back to the F train nights and weekends.”

Some riders were dismayed that the MTA would force them to switch trains.

“  This s— is crazy,”  Harlem resident Patricia Mattocks, 57, said when a reporter broke the news about the F and M train switcheroo.

Mattocks frequently visits her 82-year old father, who lives at the Queensbridge Houses. Residents there are served by the F line, but will be forced onto the M, a train Mattocks loathes.

“ The M sucks. It sucks, period,” she said. “I would never take that train.”

MTA data suggests Mattock’s concern might be unfounded. The F train is one of the city’s least-reliable subway lines, with nearly a quarter of weekday trains on the line reporting delays in October. Just over 15% of weekday trains were delayed on the M line the same month, according to the MTA.

Still, transit officials argued service on both lines would improve as a result of the change. The previous alignment required E, F, M and R trains to crisscross at Queens Plaza. When one line was delayed, it would reverberate across all four, hammering commutes for tens of thousands of riders.

“ There are real benefits. … Folks in Roosevelt Island are going to get less crowded trains, whichever direction they head into,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said during a news conference last week. “The F train coming from Eastern Queens is really, really crowded in the morning. So you have more chance of getting a seat.”

Some riders who aren’t even troubled by the change have other reasons to be concerned: The MTA earlier this year updated its subway map with a new design, replacing all its signs in the system. Now, they’re inaccurate.

“ I actually just recently framed a map of the transit system in my house,” lamented Long Island City resident Clay Wollner, 37. “Now I have to reprint that.”