Fastrack Returns to the 8th Avenue Line

October 19th, 2012

1 Subway2 Subway3 Subway trains resumed their normal routes this morning after completion of MTA New York City Transit's latest round of FASTRACK closures along the Broadway/7th Avenue Line.

Once again, hundreds of Transit workers were busy in tunnels and stations performing a four-night blitz of inspections, repairs and maintenance chores as well as cleaning and painting jobs. This time, the work focused on infrastructure between 34th Street-Penn Station and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and between 34th Street-Penn Station and South Ferry.

NYC Transit maintenance personnel took advantage of a train-free environment to clean lighting fixtures, change bulbs and repair platform edges. FASTRACK also allowed for intense levels of station cleaning, all things that improve efficiency while also providing a visible improvement to the station environment. On the maintenance side, employees inspected signals, replaced rails and ties, scraped roadbeds and painted areas impossible to reach during normal train operation.

Work accomplished included:

  • Signals: Serviced 69 signals, serviced ten switches, supported the Track Division on various rail jobs.
  • Track: Installed 14 rails, removed 4,839 bags of rubbish, removed 16,000 pounds of scrap and debris, installed 523 plates, installed 91 tie blocks, generated more than two tons of scrap debris, and scraped 1,160 feet of track.
  • Stations: Caulked and secured 800 feet of rubbing board brackets, replaced 122 tunnel lights, replaced 709 station light bulbs, replaced 79 square feet of ADA tiles.
  • Elevators and Cables: Crews inspected manholes between South Ferry and 34th Street, repaired communications cable, inspected manholes and ducts between Nevins Street and Clark Street, in Brooklyn.

As always, Transit workers were on hand at major transfer hubs to direct customers to nearby trains. Only subway line segments with substantial subway alternatives are selected for the overnight shutdowns. So, in addition to nearby lines, other lines that don't usually operate during the late night hours continued to operate in order to help accommodate customers. In order to avoid further inconvenience, other service diversions in the area affected by the closure were avoided.

During the four-night series of shutdowns, more than 800 maintenance workers each night completed hundreds of tasks, an effort that would have taken months under normal operations.

FASTRACK is returning to the Eighth Avenue Line beginning this coming Monday, October 22 and running for four consecutive weeknights. The A SubwayC SubwayE Subway Lines will be affected from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., suspending Eighth Avenue service between 59th Street-Columbus Circle in Manhattan and Jay Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn and the World Trade Center E Subway station in both directions.

During this FASTRACK, service will operate as follows:

A trains run via the F Subway and D Subway lines between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Jay Street-MetroTech:

  1. On the D Subway line between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and 47th-50th Streets.
  2. On the F Subway line between 47th-50th Streets and Jay Street-MetroTech.

E Subway trains are rerouted to the F Subway in Manhattan:

  1. E Subway trains run on the F Subway Line between 5th Avenue-53rd Street and 2nd Avenue.
  2. The 2nd Avenue F Subway station is the last stop in Manhattan for E Subway trains to and from Queens.
  3. There is no train service between World Trade Center and West 4th Street.

C Subway service to Manhattan runs until 9:30 p.m. Brooklyn-bound service runs until 10 p.m.

Customers should use 6th Avenue D Subway and F Subway stations to connect with rerouted A Subway and E Subway trains. Take the 1 Subway2 Subway4 Subway5 Subway6 SubwayN Subway and R Subway trains for service to and from Lower Manhattan. Take the 1 Subway or 2 Subway for service to and from: 34th Street-Penn Station, Times Square-42nd Street and 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Our final FASTRACK overnight closure for 2012 will be on the Lexington Avenue Line -; 4 Subway5 Subway6 Subway lines on November 5-9. Alternative transportation options are detailed in announcements and posters on trains, in stations and on selected buses; brochures are available in both English and Spanish. Information is also available on the web by clicking here and through social media, email and text alerts.