This weekend is looking like a “stay in your neighborhood” kind of weekend. If you’re planning to traverse the city between Friday night, January 9, and Monday morning, January 12, you might want to double-check your route.
The MTA has announced a massive wave of construction-related service changes, leaving only a handful of lines untouched. Here is everything you need to know to survive the weekend transit madness.
The “Safe” List–Who Isn’t Affected
Before we dive into the chaos, here are the only lines running a completely normal schedule:
- Subway: F, M, Q, 1, and 6
- Shuttles: Franklin Ave and Rockaway Park
If your commute relies on any of the above, you’re in the clear. Everyone else? Keep reading.
Major Subway Service Disruptions (Jan 9 – Jan 12)
A & C Trains: The Brooklyn-Manhattan Shuffle
The A and C lines are seeing significant reroutes due to signal modernization work.
- A Train: from Friday (11:45 pm) to Monday (5 am), Queens-bound A trains will run on the F line between Jay Street-MetroTech and West 4th Street
- Local Stops: throughout Saturday and Sunday, Queens-bound A trains will make local stops in Brooklyn (Ralph, Rockaway, Liberty, Van Siclen, and Sheperd Aves). Downtown A trains will also run local at 50th Street and 23rd Street
- C Train: uptown C trains will skip Spring, 23rd, and 50th Streets. Downtown C trains will follow the F line between West 4th St and Jay Street-MetroTech
- Note: There is no C train service overnight all weekend
E & G Trains: Limited Service
- E Train: expect bypasses at Spring Street and 23rd Street all weekend
- G Train: service is severely reduced–trains will only run between Court Sq-23rd Street and Bedford-Nostrand Aves, with no service between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Ave
L & J Trains: Brooklyn/Queens Outages
- L Train: from Friday night to Monday morning, there is no service between Lorimer Street and Broadway Junction (just when we thought you were the most reliable 😩)
- J Train: no service between Crescent Street (Brooklyn) and Jamaica Center (Queens)–this disruption is also scheduled to repeat next weekend
N & D Trains: Localized Reroutes
- D Train: from Saturday (3:45 am) to Sunday (10 pm), Coney Island-bound trains will move via the N line between 36th Street and Stillwell Ave
- N Train: Manhattan-bound N trains will skip several Astoria stops (30th Ave, Broadway, 36th Ave, and 39th Ave)
2, 3, 4 & 5 Trains: Cross-Borough Headaches
- 2 Train: no service between Chambers Street (Manhattan) and Flatbush Ave (Brooklyn)
- 3 Train: completely suspended from Friday night through Monday morning
- 4/5 Trains: the 4 will replace 3 train service in Brooklyn. In the Bronx, Manhattan-bound 4 trains will skip several stops including 161st St-Yankee Stadium. Some 4 trains will be rerouted to the 6 line station at 138th Street
7 Train: Queens Express Bypasses
- 7 Train: Queens-bound trains will skip 82nd, 90th, 103rd, and 111th Streets from Friday night through Monday at 3 am
Why Is This Happening?
The MTA is utilizing this window to perform critical “state of good repair” work.
This includes replacing track switches that are nearly 40 years old and installing modern Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) systems. While the weekend is a headache, these upgrades are designed to eventually allow for more frequent trains and fewer “unplanned” delays.
Pro-Tip: always check the MTA app or mta.info before you leave, as last-minute changes can occur based on construction progress.