Queens F and M train riders gave mixed reactions to the two lines swapping their paths between the World’s Borough and Manhattan on Monday, the first day of the service change.
F trains are now traveling via the 53rd Street tunnel between Queens and Manhattan, while M trains are running on the 63rd Street tunnel through Roosevelt Island. Although the change is permanent, it is only in effect between 6 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays; during late nights and weekends, the F will run on the 63rd Street line, while M trains run between Middle Village-Metropolitan Avenue in Queens and Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan.
Top Metropolitan Transporation Authority brass says they made the swap to clear a merge issue at the Queens Plaza station, which they said was slowing down all four trains that run below Queens Boulevard — the F, M, E, and R. They contend the change will lead to more on-time service for the 1.2 million riders who frequent those lines and reduce crowding on trains serving the affected stations.
Speaking to reporters at the Roosevelt Island station on Monday morning, NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said the change eliminates a problem that has “existed for years.”
“You’ve been waiting at Queens Plaza, and you’re waiting for that E train, and all of a sudden the M local cuts in front of you and you’re waiting,” Crichlow said. “That will be a thing of the past. No more will that happen.”
As the MTA rolled out the change for the first time on Monday, trains on the F and E lines were running with delays due to a switch problem at Fifth Avenue/53rd St. — one of the stations now served by the F instead of the M. The issue caused large crowds on the platforms at Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue, as observed by amNewYork.
The MTA was still working on resolving the issue by the time of publication.
Straphangers, who will now catch the M train at 21st Str.-Queensbridge, rather than the F, offered a variety of responses to the shakeup.
One rider, who identified herself as Kylie Joslin, told amNewYork that she finds the change “a little confusing” and thinks it “doesn’t seem that necessary.” But she added that it will not impact her own commute.
“I think they end up going to the same stops that I go,” Joslin said.
Another rider, who gave the name Ray, expressed a similar sentiment. He said that while the swap will not affect his commute, he thinks that it not being in effect all the time could cause confusion.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “You wanna switch the F and the M, that’s fine. But why the only during the weekday thing? Why do we have to switch back from the M to the F weeknights and weekends? It’s gonna be confusing for some people.”
Asked about that decision during the news conference, NYC Transit Executive Vice President of Subways Bill Amarosa Jr. said it is keeping with the M’s usual schedule, where it runs on the Queens Boulevard line only during peak hours. On late nights and weekends, the M just runs between Middle Village and Manhattan.
“It’s similar to other routes around the system that have a different pattern on weekdays than they do overnight,” Amarosa Jr. said. “We think customers will get used to it and we’ll be sure to make lots of announcements and have signage up, so people know when the service changes.”
A third rider, Khanh Luu, said the switch means that she will now have several more stops to Jackson Heights Roosevelt Avenue, where buses that connect to LaGuardia Airport stop.
“Before if I’m going to, say LaGuardia, it was just one stop on the F,” Luu said. “Now I have one, two, three, four, five, six stops in between. So, that’s the downsides of the switch, going to the airport.”
