The "F" is a Mess - But Help is On the Way

By Ed Litvak

Feature article in The Lo-Down

Partly as a result of a report requested by State Senator Daniel Squadron, the MTA is fast-tracking improvements to the F Train. The agency conducted a three month study of the line, determining what we already know: the F is overcrowded and unreliable. Squadron told the New York Times, “We should start seeing improvements this month, and more significant improvements as we begin next year." In the Daily News he said "the MTA has really created a model here for how to respond to a line that's in trouble."

In a news release, the MTA said:

The study acknowledges the line's below average performance, due in part to its length, the age of its infrastructure, and the complexity of its operation. Recognizing the need for improvement along the line, which connects the Jamaica section of Queens to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NYC Transit has made the line a priority and numerous initiatives are already underway under the leadership of F Line General Manager Dwayne Anglero.

In the months ahead, old subway cars (dating to the 1970's) will be replaced. Also, the F Train's timetable will be reviewed, the practice of skipping stations will be reduced, construction projects will be made more efficient.

The report includes all sorts of interesting tidbits:

•Ridership on the F has grown 15-percent since 2004.
•From 50th Street to 2nd Avenue there are 15 F trains and 10 V trains running per hour (during rush hour). In theory, that means a train should arrive every 2.4 minutes.
•Now underway: construction of a transfer passageway between the 6th Avenue B/D/F/V line and the northbound Lexington Avenue 6 line at the Broadway-Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street station.  Right now riders can only transfer to/from the southbound 6 at this station complex. 

Click here to read the full F Train report.