"Transfer is Available to the L train" announcement heard in Manhattan this past weekend

The L line is in the midst of five weekend partial shutdowns through Monday, May 18.   The line. which normally runs between 8th Ave and 14th Street in Manhattan and Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie, Brooklyn, is not running between Manhattan and Lorimer Street on weekends and weeknights through May, due to extensive trackwork in the underwater tubes which carries trains between Brooklyn and Manhattan.


But you would not believe there is a weekend shutdown in Manhattan, not with conductors working on the 1/2/3/F/M/N and R lines, making "Transfer to the L Train" announcements when their train approaches the appropriate 14th Street stop.  I went to Manhattan last Saturday (4/25) and made these observations to listen if the "L" portion of the normal transfer announcement could be heard.  Since I took the 2 train from the Bronx to Manhattan, my first stop would be 14th Street and 7th Ave on the 1/2/3 lines.  These observations were made from 5:30 to 5:53 PM of which three out of five passed. 

Time	Line	Direction	Car #	Result
5:30	2	SB	6571	Fail
5:35	1	NB	2246	Fail (asked if L was running)
5:42	1	NB	2396	Passed
5:46	2	SB	6620	Passed (asked)
5:53	3	NB	1480	Passed (asked)

 

That's a pretty good rate for such a small sampling,  Sadly, it all goes downhill from there when I walked through the passageway from the 1/2/3 platform to the 6th Ave platform on the L then upstairs for the F and special M service.  The M was running on it's normal weekday route from Metropolitan Ave to 47/50 Streets then rerouted to the 57th Street/6th Ave F line station where it would turn back to Metropolitan during the day and evening hours. 

Time	Line	Direction	Car #	Result
6:14 PM	F	NB	9199	Fail
6:19	M	SB	9971	Fail
6:30	M	NB	8641	Fail
6:39	F	SB	9888	Fail
6:55	M	NB	8408	Fail

 

All five times, conductors failed to override the automated "Transfer is available to the L (portion) train" announcement. The conductor on the 6:55 PM M train did make an manual announcement about the suspension of L service but that was well after the train arrived at 14th Street and the doors opened.  Here is a quick video of a 57th Street-bound M train with the L transfer announcement on one of the three M trains.

Finally I went to the Broadway N/Q/R lines and rode the N and R local trains a few times - - the cars on the N line are newer than the cars running on the R line - thus the N line would have automated announcements inside each subway car while the R line has manual announcements made by the conductor's voice.  5 observations, 5 failures - all 5 of them the L transfer announcement can be heard.

Time	Line	Direction	Car #	Result
7:13	N	SB	8835	Fail
7:24	R	NB	5762	Fail
7:31	N	SB	8670	Fail
7:35	R	NB	5783	Fail
7:52	R	SB	5711	Fail

I would say it's mind boggling for these wrong announcements being made every day - the partial weekend suspension of the L line has been all over the news media and on the MTA website.  Now while these observations are made on a Saturday evening, could you imagine if these wrong announcements are made at 2 AM in the morning when the same partial suspension of the L line takes place overnight on weeknights and you would wind up waiting for the next train on 10 to 20 minute intervals?  Also, every station (including) terminals, has a list of weekday and weekend service changes - - there is so much information about the specifics of the L line weekend work, it's hard to miss. This means that Train Service Supervisors are not monitoring these announcements for clarity and accuracy.  NYC Transit continues to be a mess with misinformation from these wrong announcements - - and we now pay $2.75 a ride or $116.50 over a 30 day period for this incompetence?  Nothing changes with NYCT - - see for yourself when you ride the subways this weekend or next - - listen for the L train announcement when your A/C/E/1/2/3/4/5/6/F/M/N/Q/R train reaches a 14th Street stop in Manhattan..