By this point, everyone should know about the MTA's "FASTTRACK" plan—you know, the thing where they're shutting down various subway lines overnight for five consecutive weeknights, starting this week with the 4, 5, 6. Today, the Times talks to some straphangers to see how they're feeling about the whole crazy plan. Spoiler alert: not so good.
“How do we get a refund?” asked one woman after she was told the downtown trains weren't running from Grand Central. "A transit worker, one of dozens deployed to aid the confused, explained an alternative route that involved three trains. The woman replied with an unprintable phrase and stormed back out to the street," reports the Times. Others were less harsh in their complaints but still found the shutdowns "annoying." Many riders are apparently still reeling from the sudden realization during Tropical Storm Irene that the 24-hour system can indeed go down, a slap in the face to the city that supposedly never sleeps.
Still, new MTA chairman Joseph Lhota called weekend construction work while the trains are still running "unbelievably inefficient." “We’ve all gotten used to the 24-hour-a-day system, and it’s going to continue to be that way, but we’ve got to clean house every now and then,” he said. “And when we clean house, we’ve got to shut it down."
Here are the other planned shutdowns:
- The Seventh Avenue 1, 2, and 3 trains will not run between 34th street and Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn, from February 13 through February 17.
- The Sixth Avenue B, D, F and M trains will not run from 69th street to West 4th street between February 20 through February 24.
- The Eighth Avenue A, C and E trains will not run from 59th Street to Jay street, in Brooklyn, from March 12 to March 16.
