F or M Train Rider? Watch Those Weekday Changes

Since Dec. 8, it’s been a new ballgame for the workweek on the F & M lines.

New York City Transit has swapped train service on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. at four stations on each on the F and M lines in Manhattan, Queens, and Roosevelt Island. The reason? A delay-provoking line merge of the two lines at Queens Plaza, where the E and M trains had to cross each other. The swap should translate into more timing consistency on the two lines, and the E and F trains as well. This should please the million-plus riders who rely on the four lines.

During the workweek, the F will run along 53rd Street, on the same line as the E, as it had done until December 2001, when the now-gone V train pushed it to the new tunnel that runs along 63rd Street.

The V was later subsumed by the M train, which will continue to run its normal route, as will the F, from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m on weekdays, and from 9:30 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday and holidays.

During these weekday line changes, the F train in Manhattan will be stopping at Lexington/53rd Street, and Fifth and 53rd Street stations; the M at Roosevelt Island, Lexington Avenue/63rd, and 57th/Sixth Avenues. If you need to go to Queens Plaza, an important connecting spot during the week, the F will stop there, but not the M.

This will mean that both the E and M trains will share their track with one less line, and any delays on the M or R trains will not impact the E and F train operation; under the pre-Dec. 8 route scheduling, up to one out of every five trains had been delayed at Queens Plaza.

Noted NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, “Implementing this swap has a real impact on the 1.2 million riders who will experience the benefit of more reliable trips for themselves.”

Are you a fan of statistics? There are more people riding under Queens Boulevard than the entire Philadelphia Transit System, as stated by MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

Don’t worry about nights, weekends, and holidays for the M; it doesn’t run.

Trains serving Roosevelt Island and 21st St/Queensbridge will be less crowded, with additional peak-hour service for the M line.