Construction cars cause longer commutes for R train riders: pols

Work underway to better the subway is having an inverse effect along the R line in southern Brooklyn, according to some riders and their elected officials.

“The genesis of this is that evening commutes are getting longer,” said State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who on Tuesday sent a letter to MTA President Andy Byford calling for relief for R train riders. “What most of my constituents are saying is, ‘Normally it takes me 50 minutes to get home and now it’s taking me an hour and a half.’”

A Bay Ridge resident whose parents both work for the MTA — and who requested anonymity — said this happens to her at least three times a week.

“I definitely have noticed my commute going smoother in the morning,” she told the Eagle. “That said, I leave work after 9 p.m. three days a week. When I get to Atlantic Avenue, sometimes there’s a 13-minute wait. Sometimes I need to take three trains since two express trains are going on the R line, but the R only ever seems to come after I get to 59th Street and wait 10 minutes.”

“Often times, I just walk,” she said, “which isn’t an ideal situation at 10 p.m. when I have work the next day, but it’s better than waiting in a muggy station for a train that never seems to come, and for it only to be packed when it does.”

Gounardes told the Brooklyn Eagle that in previous conversations with Byford, the delays had been connected — at least in part — to construction trains leaving the 36th Street rail yard in the midst of evening rush hour.

“We understand that they have to get wherever they’re going for their overnight shift, but what I want to know is if there is any way we can figure something out to help ease this burden,” the state senator said, stressing that he’s hearing from frustrated commuters at least a few times a week.