On Monday, February 6, MTA New York City Transit’s FASTRACK program returns to  stations in Manhattan for two weeks.  For four consecutive weeknights from Monday, February 6, to early Friday morning, February 10, and for four weeknights from Monday, February 13 to Friday, February 17  trains will not stop at the following 6 Av stations: 14 St, 23 St, 34 St-Herald Sq, 42 St-Bryant Pk, 47-50 Sts, and 57 St.   and  trains are rerouted on the 8 Av  line.   and  service will end early in Manhattan each night.

Trains will operate as follows: 

•  trains will run in two sections: Between Norwood-205 St and the 2 Av  station, then via the local between 59 St-Columbus Circle and W 4 St-Wash Sq, and between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Coney Island-Stillwell Av.
•  trains are rerouted via the  line between W 4 St-Wash Sq and Roosevelt Av in both directions.
• Special  shuttle trains will run between Lexington Av/63 St and 21 St-Queensbridge, stopping at Roosevelt Island every 20 minutes.
• and  service will end early each night. Manhattan-bound service in Brooklyn and Queens will end at approximately 9:30 p.m.  Service in Manhattan is available until approximately 10:00 p.m.

Travel alternatives:   

• Use 8 Av stations to connect with  and .
• For service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, take the  or  Transfer between  and  trains at B’way-Lafayette St.
• Transfer between  and  trains at Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Times Sq-42 St.  
• Take the special  shuttle for service to/from Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island, and 21 St-Queensbridge.
• Transfer between special shuttle trains and  trains at Lexington Av/63 St and  trains at Lexington Av/59 St via out of system transfer.

FASTRACK has been designed around the careful determination that there is adequate alternate means of transportation, including enhanced services along some bus lines during work periods.  Alternative transportation options will be detailed in announcements and posters on trains, in stations and on selected buses; brochures will be available in both English and Spanish.  Information on this FASTRACK is available on the web at http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/fastrack_BDFM_6Av.htm

Wynton Habersham, Senior Vice President for the Department of Subways said "FASTRACK has proven to have a significant impact on decreasing delays – both in terms of consolidating maintenance forces in a concentrated area and in terms of proactive maintenance that improves service delivery.”

During our previous FASTRACK in March 2016 along the  6 Av line in Manhattan, New York City Transit repair and maintenance crews completed many tasks which ranged from changing light bulbs to replacing rails along this 2.5-mile segment between 14 St and 57 St.  Track workers replaced 53 rails, 1,195 track plates, 1,672 friction pads, and 62 tie blocks.  Infrastructure crews replaced 30 light bulbs in the tunnel, grouted 234 leaks, cleaned 4,445 feet of drains, and repaired 30 feet of drain lines.  They also repaired 1,045 feet of handrails, 238 feet of bench wall and serviced 6 pump plants.  In the area of electronic maintenance, workers serviced 12 CCTV cameras and 13 monitors.

At stations, workers scraped, primed and painted 21,000 feet, 53,000 feet and 35,470 feet of station surface areas respectively.  They also replaced 1,535 station light bulbs, 24 ballasts, 33 platform signs, 14 wayfinding signs, installed 150 feet of drain line, and painted and repaired 7,696 feet and 598 feet of rubbing board at the platform’s edge.  Signal crews serviced 11 switched, 6 signals, tested 18 signals and tested 19 switches.  This only represents a portion of the work that is completed during FASTRACK. 

FASTRACK was introduced in January 2012, devoting four straight weeknights to perform maintenance work in tunnels, stations and on tracks, completely suspending service within a given line segment for a seven-hour period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m..  This gives free access to the system, allowing an army of maintenance workers to perform dozens of tasks repairing and replacing components that are vital to providing safe and reliable train service without the concern of having to "clear up" to allow trains to pass. FASTRACK efforts have been highly successful in providing a safer work environment for employees and improved station conditions for customers.

Our next FASTRACK overnight closure will be on the  Lines in the Bronx for two consecutive weeks from February 27 to March 3, and March 6 to March 10.