The craziest weekend coming up in the NYC subways

Brace yourself!

Not since the early 1980s has a weekend in the NYC subway system turned upside down from a myriad  of construction projects and reroutes - -   it all begins Friday night (2/10) at 10:30 PM, running until 5 AM Monday 2/13.   Two more weekends will follow with the same reroutes, including Presidents Day 2/20

There will be no service on the Orange 6th Ave stations from 57th Street/6th Ave all the way to Brooklyn.  The D will not be running normally between 59th Street/Columbus Circle and Coney Island via. West End (New Utrecht Ave and 86th Street) line.  The F will not be running normally between 63rd Street/Lexington Ave and Coney Island via. the Culver (Park Slope and McDonald Ave) line.     Here is the skinny


The following D/F stations will be fully closed all weekend:

57th Street
47th-50th Street, Rockefeller Center
42nd Street-Bryant Park
34th Street-Herald Square
23rd Street
14th Street
West 4th Street* (lower level only)  The upper level A/C/E platform will continue to be open.
Broadway-Lafayette*
Grand Street* (D line)
Second Ave* (F line)
Delancey Street* (F line)
East Broadway* (F line)
York Street*

(An asterisk * denotes that a shuttle bus route is available at this station)

7th Ave-53rd Street in Manhattan will remain open as E trains will continue to stop there.


The following shuttle bus routes are being utilized.

West 4th Street <=====> Broadway-Lafayette, 2nd Ave, Delancey and East Broadway
West 4th Street <=====> Broadway-Lafayette, and Grand Street
York Street <========> Jay Street--Metrotech

Now the reroutes.  In Brooklyn, the D and F routes swap places, see below.

D trains from the Bronx will run normal to 59th Street/Columbus Circle then start the crazy reroute on the A line all the way down to Jay Street-Metrotech.  At Jay Street, the D will arrive on the F track side and continue on the F to Coney Island.  As a reminder for Brooklyn F riders, due to long term station reconstruction, Coney Island bound D trains run express from 18th Ave to Neptune Ave, bypassing local stops.  D trains will arrive/depart on the F platform at Coney Island.  Going from Brooklyn to Manhattan, the D runs on the F line from Coney Island to Jay Street, switches over to the A line track and runs to 59th Street (express A stops in Manhattan) where it continues as a normal D to 205th Street

F trains from Queens will run normal to 63rd Street, then the reroute gets very interesting.   F trains switch over to the Q line where it will run express on the Broadway Q line to Canal Street, (Bridge Platform) run over the Manhattan Bridge where it will run on the D line (bypassing Dekalb Ave days and evenings, express Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center to 36th Street) and along the D West End line to Coney Island, arriving/departing on the D platform.   Returning is same way, D from Coney Island to Manhattan Bridge, Q from Manhattan Bridge to 63rd Street then normal F route to Queens.


Now some tips, first for the D line:

Remember in Brooklyn, an D is running on the F line while an F train is running on the D.  Either way, you will not be able to access any 6th Ave line station in Manhattan (except West 4th Street for the D stopping on the A platform) unless you use the shuttle bus, or get off at a nearby subway station.  Each closed station from Broadway-Lafayette to 7th Ave or 57th Street is no more than 1 block away from an active station.  For 57th Street and 6th Ave on the F line, take the F (or N/R/Q) to 57th Street and 7th Ave and walk one block.  For 7th Ave  and 53rd Street on the D line,coming from the Bronx, transfer to the E at 42nd Street-Port Authority (stay at the rear of the D train if you can as the Uptown platform is mostly north of the Downtown platform).  If you were asking me why I didn't suggest the 1 at 59th Street, sorry - - Downtown 1 (and late night 2) trains are not stopping there and run express due to trackwork.  You can also use the F/N/Q/R to 57th Street/7th Ave and use the south end (rear car of Uptown/Queens bound train, first car of Downtown/Brooklyn bound train) as there is an exit to 55th Street and 7th Ave, two blocks away.

The two crosstown subway routes (L line along 14th Street, 7 line along 42nd Street) allow you to utilize the stations closest to the 6th Ave line because they are transfer points when the D and F are running normally.  And West 4th Street continues to be open because A/C/E/D trains stop there

The N line will be remain on the R line from Canal Street all the way to 59th Street (both directions), making local stops.  The reasoning by NYCT is to prevent three subway lines (N, Q, and rerouted F) from clogging up train traffic over the Manhattan Bridge.  Additionally, you can use the N or R trains to transfer between the F and D trains - both ways - from an F train in Manhattan, you can switch to the N or R trains at any stop between 57th Street/7th Ave and 14th Street-Union Square, take them to Jay Street-Metrotech or 9th Street and transfer to the D (or you can stay on the F to Atlantic Ave for the N or R to 9th Street too).  From an D train in Manhattan, going to the West End line in Brooklyn, switch to the N or R at Jay Street, then transfer across the platform to a F train at Atlantic Ave.

On the F line stations in Brooklyn, if you just need a simple way to get between Brooklyn and Queens, use the G train to Court Square then switch over the the 7 or E

For York Street, if you can, walk over to the High Street station - - if not, use the shuttle bus to Jay Street

For Delancey Street, and if you need the F - - use the J or M (rerouted to Chambers Street, during these three weekends) then transfer at the following:  For Queens F stations, transfer at Canal Street and wait at the lower Bridge platform.  For Brooklyn F, transfer at Fulton Street for the D running downstairs at the A/C platform.

I remember the early 1980s on weekends, when D trains ran on the Brighton Line in Brooklyn (that's the B and Q lines today), the D from West 4th Street in Manhattan switched over to the M line and ran to Essex Street.  From there it would pick up a motorman (back in the days they were not train operators), run up to the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge then reverse back all the way down the J and old M route to the R then Dekalb Ave - - all nonstop between West 4th Street or Broadway-Lafayette and Dekalb Ave.

So it goes, the reroute of the 1980s is now topped by these D and F line swaps.  Have fun because I will be out there this weekend.