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Remember, The R Train Will Be Mostly Useless Starting Friday


By

Lauren Evans

Published Jul 30, 2013

Modified Jul 30, 2013


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MTA Photos


By

Lauren Evans

Published Jul 30, 2013

Modified Jul 30, 2013


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Straphangers who rely on the R train are in for a rough 14 months starting this Friday, as the MTA works to repair the damage left over from that vicious harpy Sandy.

On weekdays:
From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on weekdays, the R will run in two sections, from Forest Hills-71st Street in Queens to Whitehall Street in Manhattan, and from Court Street to Bay Ridge-95th Street in Brooklyn. The estimated 65,000 daily riders affected will be accommodated by trains running between Brooklyn and Manhattan on the 2/3/4/5/A/B/C/D/F/N and Q lines, all of which are accessible from the R train’s final four stations in Brooklyn.

On weekends:
From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the R will be re-routed over the Manhattan Bridge serving all stations with the exception of Court Street and Jay-Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn and the City Hall, Cortlandt, Rector, and Whitehall Street stations in Lower Manhattan.

Late nights:
The N, which is normally re-routed through the tunnel to replace the R, will instead continue to operate over the Manhattan Bridge at all times.

Got it? You can look see the whole layout on the MTA's website here.

And why is this happening, again?

“The temporary repairs that returned [this tube] to operation after Sandy are not enough to provide reliable service," said MTA Acting Chairman Fernando Ferrer. "This is unfortunately the reality of recovery from Sandy: the damage is insidious and continuing, and repairing it will take billions of dollars over several years. We recognize that these closures will be an inconvenience for many of our customers, and we will do our best to provide them with alternatives. But there is no alternative to doing this work now.”

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