The New York subway is the only major city subway that runs through the night (and one of few in the world), complicating track and system repair. With some fanfare, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is rolling out FASTRACK, “a new way to work on the rails.”
Beginning tonight, the 4, 5, and 6 lines which run down the East Side of Manhattan will be closed from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., from Grand Central station to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn’s largest train hub. A busy six-mile stretch with 15 stops will have no trains passing through at all. That’s a good thing, the MTA says, meaning repairs can happen much more quickly than they could with repair workers darting between trains (metaphorically speaking.)
Even so, in New York, where the subways run round the clock, anytime is someone’s time. Here’s a sampling of night riders, and what they had to say.
Frances Ruiz, on her way back to Flatbush, Brooklyn from visiting relatives in Riverdale, the Bronx. "I don't know what we would do. It would be a problem." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)
Adam Martinez, heading home from a successful date. "I live and work in the Bronx but I take the 4,5,6 regularly to have a social life and if this line is shut down four times a year, four days in a row, it'll greatly hinder that." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)
Writer Andrea Mustain, commuting back to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. "10 o'clock, that's crazy. How dare they." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)
Comedian Eric Mangin: "I believe I can take the N or the R to Atlantic and switch to the 2,3. I have four trains at my stop so I'm pretty lucky. I don't think it's going to be too much of an inconvenience but I know for a lot of people, it's a big headache." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)
Darlene Womack, who travels from Morrisiana in the Bronx to her security guard job in the West Village. "Get it together, fix the tracks, you know. Do it on they (their) time not on ours." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)
“Do it on their time, not ours.”
Brilliant advice from Darlene Womack. Just brilliant. What time does she think they’re trying to do this anyway?
So when the last woman says that, does she suggest the MTA do this work in some alternate universe?
Sure, it’s an inconvenience for some people. So is going to the dentist. But it keeps your teeth from rotting. Why doesn’t the MTA sprinkle magic dust on the rails to keep them in good working order?