Subway Riders in Queens Stranded with “Fast Track”

Past weeks have confirmed that the huge mass of non-influential subway riders in the Borough of Queens, New York City, have been bearing the brunt of so-called “Fast Track” repairs, intended to speed up maintenance and replacement of outdated subway signals and tracks.

Not just late evenings.

Not just occasional weekends.

Not just holidays.

This has become an everyday occurrence, admitted—directly to this writer—by none other than Joseph Nocerino, Transportation Community Coordinator for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

More low-income and immigrant subway riders travel from and back to Queens every day than from any other borough. They have little political clout.

What they do have is mountains of endurance and patience to navigate the maze that has become commuting from Queens on almost any day and at almost any time of the day, evening, or night.

Nocerino confessed to me that this state of affairs is expected to continue for at least two more years, during which time there is often a game of “gotcha” going on for riders, who are frequently confused and dazed when they encounter the delays and welter of notices splattered all over the large maps on subway platforms (to the tune of “Dem Bones”):

“The R Train expected on the F line

“The F Train expected on the Q line

“The E Train expected on the F line

“And forget your plans for the M.

“The D Train won’t get you to the E line

“The B Train is skipping to the C line

“The C Train ain’t running ’long the E line

“And you can’t take the A anymore.

“Express trains running on the local line

“Local trains roaring down express tracks

“And both being cancelled in a heartbeat

“Don't you hear the word of the Lord?

“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,

“Dem poor folks shunted to the 7 line

“Where the N Train changes to the W

“And everything runs on the Q . . . .

“Don’t you hear the word of the Lord?”

Yesterday’s subway traffic snarls that left platforms dangerously overloaded with commuters, baby carriages, suitcases, and other desolate travelers was a continuation of the problems during weeknight evenings beginning at the unseemly hour of 7 p.m. and accelerating at 9:30 p.m.

In the end, nearly everyone was forced to travel far out of his or her way to the 7 Train Roosevelt Avenue stop and overflowed the platforms three levels below hoping somehow, anyhow, any time to make it onto a train home to central Queens. A minimum of two hours each way. Time is money, and family time, and meal time, and rest time. But we seem to spend a huge part of each day stranded on those damnable trains.

With no end in sight and incompetence of the MTA ruling the day.

Shame!