Brooklyn, NY – The F train stands for failure these days.
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The flailing line is a frustrating flub of a subway that “lags behind other routes” in terms of keeping trains on time, according to an MTA report released yesterday.
Trains on the line experience 25 percent more delays than the system as a whole, and an average of 2.5 Brooklyn-bound F trains skip stations every day during evening rush hours, the report found.
Adding to the headaches, an average of 15 F trains per week are rerouted to the A, G, R or V line in Brooklyn or Queens with little notice, the report said.
Furious straphangers know the F line’s flimsy record all too well and are glad to hear that the MTA has a plan for getting it back on track.
“We say we know what the ‘F’ stands for, and it isn’t ‘frequent,’ ” said Murell Horten, 30, who was waiting for the train at the 15th Street-Prospect Park station yesterday.
“I’ve lived here for 15 years. There have been no changes. It only gets worse. It’s like it has been completely forgotten,” he said. “I could see why it’s one of the worst lines in the city.”
The report blamed old subway cars, heavy construction and the fact that the F in some sections shares the track with the E, G and V lines.
“It is never on schedule; you always have to wait,” said Tiffany Santiago, 24, who lives near Prospect Park. “It’s too bad, because it’s one of few options around here.”
The MTA said it has a slew of fixes — some already in progress — in store for the line.
Officials want to keep straphangers from confusing the F and G, which run on the same track for eight stops in Brooklyn and have similar-looking cars. Mixed-up riders often delay the train by holding the doors.
To do that, the agency is flooding the F line with one of the newest models of subway cars, to distinguish it from the G, the report said.
The MTA also said the line will speed up when massive construction at the Smith-Ninth Street station is completed.
The MTA is also exploring the possibility of running a Manhattan-bound express F train through crowded stretches of Brooklyn, starting in 2013.
Straphangers yesterday weren’t convinced the plans would work.
“We all laugh about it. We have grown accustomed to it, but the F really is a terrible train,” said Karen Lichtman, who has lived near the line for 15 years.
“They have tried to add more new cars, though, which is an improvement.”
The exhaustive, three-month study came about when riders and elected officials — including state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) — clamored for a review of the line’s poor performance.
“We’re taking direct action to improve performance in an area where customers have not received good value,” said MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin.
He said the report was an example of the MTA’s “making information available, accessible and understandable.”
Straphanger Alex Catalan, 21, said he just wanted to see an end to the confusion.
“It’s pretty bad during the day, and at night it’s terrible,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I have ended up somewhere I didn’t know because there are always different trains running on the line.”
That is so true. There hasn’t been a single time that I experienced the “F” train on time.
they know that it runs through boro park, and veryone in BP is on brooklyn jewish time, which means an hour late
Why does the MTA have to wait until 2013 to run the F train express? That is meshuga!
Strange. I use the D train and there can be three F trains before a D comes along. Who cares if the train is on time if it’s so frequent. As for ending up in the wrong place- your fault. Read signs. Just saying.
The “B” errr I mean “D” isnt any better! That line – the one that runs on New Utrecht – has ALWAYS been utterly disgusting.
by the way- this isn’t just brooklyn. the f runs through queens too, with it being the only option for many people.
Rthe “F train has long been rated “F”
I happen to think there is a specific schedule and can give it to you if you want it
i once had to wait 2 hours for the train