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Taking the F train on nights and weekends is going to be a lot trickier from now until early 2021.
In order to fix the Rutgers Tunnel, which runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan and sustained damage during Superstorm Sandy, the MTA is making major changes to F train service, starting today.
On nights and weekends for three weeks, one week each in October and November, and on nights and weekends for four months in early 2021, there will be no train service at the East Broadway or York St stations between 9:30pm and 5am.
The World Trade Center E Subway station will also be closed to customers.
- F trains will be rerouted on the A Subway/C Subway line between Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn and West 4 Street in Manhattan
- F trains will be rerouted on the E line between West 4 Street in Manhattan and 36 Street in Queens
- E trains will be rerouted on the F line between 36 Street in Queens and Delancey Street-Essex Street in Manhattan, the first/last stop for all E trains in Manhattan.
Free shuttle bus service to nearby subway stations will be provided at East Broadway and York St. The Chambers St A Subway/C station and Cortlandt St N/R station will also serve as alternative points of entry into the system.
The MTA won't be closing the tunnel but instead doing work on nights and weekends like it did during the L train project. Doing it this way will "minimize inconvenience" to 35,000 riders, the MTA says.
"Once complete, we will have rehabilitated every tunnel damaged during Sandy, further fortifying the system against future natural disasters," said Sarah Feinberg, the MTA's interim president. "We’re working to make sure this work leads to as few disruptions as possible for our customers and look forward to getting this vital project underway in the weeks ahead."
Work being done includes installing a cable management racking system, replacing track, signal equipment, power and communication cables, fan plant equipment, tunnel lighting and pumps. The MTA will also harden the pumping system by relocating the pump controls outside of the flood zone and providing a backup generator connection. The tube was flooded with more than 1.5 million gallons of water during Superstorm Sandy, the MTA says.
The Rutgers Tunnel is the last of the Sandy-damaged tunnels to be rehabbed.
"The L Subway train project demonstrated that the MTA can deliver major projects much faster and at less cost than anybody expected," said Janno Lieber, the president of MTA Construction & Development. "Now, with the Rutgers (F Subway Train) tube, we’re on a mission to prove that we can make it the norm, as we continue to embrace advanced technologies and private sector development techniques."
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