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MTA plans to untangle one of NYC's worst subway bottlenecks
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Stephen Nessen
Published Jun 20, 2025
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Clayton Guse
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Jun 20, 2025
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This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.
Sign up to get the full version, which includes answers to reader questions, trivia, service changes and more, in your inbox every Thursday.
The MTA plans to make life better for 300,000 daily riders by untangling a track bottleneck in Brooklyn that’s strained commutes on New York City’s busiest lines for nearly a century – and it could result in a big change to the subway map’s layout.
It’s called the Nostrand Interlocking, and all who pass through it are familiar with its wrath. The interlocking is located in the stretch of Central Brooklyn where the 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines intersect, and requires dozens of trains to grind to a halt every hour.
Here, trains on the 2 and 5 lines roll along a wide curve that connects the Franklin Avenue station to tracks that run north-south below Nostrand Avenue. Meanwhile, trains on the 3 and 4 lines connect to tracks beneath Eastern Parkway. East of Franklin Avenue, the eastbound and westbound tracks twist and stack atop one another.
A diagram of the current layout of the Nostrand Interlocking.
Courtesy MTA
All this creates a subway twist-tie that hampers subway service on all the lines from New Lots to Woodlawn. The arrangement forces 2, 3 and 5 trains to share a single interchange — which requires trains on each line to stop and wait while another passes.
”There are significant delays and it's impossible to plan your day,” bemoaned Stephanie Browne, 36, who passes through the dreaded interlocking every day. “It can just really throw a wrench in your plans.”
But MTA officials have a plan to fix the problem once and for all through the agency’s new $65 billion five-year capital plan, which received final approval this week.
The agency aims to reconfigure service to reduce the number of conflicts at the interchange by essentially swapping the 3 and 5 routes east of Franklin Avenue. Instead of turning down Nostrand Avenue, 5 trains would run beneath Eastern Parkway. And instead of intersecting with incoming trains to travel along Eastern Parkway, 3 trains would turn down Nostrand Avenue.
MTA officials said the changes could force them to change the platform assignments for the four subway lines that run through Franklin Avenue, but noted they would not know for sure if that would be necessary until they’ve completed a study to inform their construction plan.
On the Way highlighted the interlocking’s problems in 2024, which prompted a rally from Brooklyn politicians like mayoral hopeful state Sen. Zellnor Myrie to fix the issue. As the MTA formed its new capital plan, the agency heeded the call — and planned to finally fix what Myrie called the “Crown Heights Cluster” once and for all.
Alyssa Cobb Konon, the MTA deputy chief development officer for planning, said the tie-up revolves around a mere 150 feet of track — or just .004% of the length of the subway. She said fixing the issue would require the construction of a new crossover track east of the interlocking that would enable 4 and 5 trains to use both the local and express tracks along Eastern Parkway.
Konon compared it to combing knots out of her daughter’s hair.
“When you comb her hair, if you're trying to get at it right where the snarl is, it's hard to do. But if you work outside of the snarl, then it's easier to detangle,” she said. “ This kind of project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
In 2020, the MTA published a report highlighting a potential plan to fix the Nostrand Interlocking while also adding a new subway route called the 8 line.
Courtesy MTA
The MTA is also considering the addition of another subway line, called the 8, which would share tracks with the 2 train between the Bronx and Franklin Avenue, before running along the route currently used by the 3 line out to New Lots Avenue.
The MTA previously estimated adding the 8 line would cost $410 million, which wouldn’t include $224 million worth of new subway cars to run additional service on the line.
But transit officials now believe they can fix the interlocking without introducing a new subway line — which they said would cost far less than $410 million.
The agency currently has no hard timeline for fixing the bottleneck, but plans to move forward with the work in the coming years.
NYC transportation news this week
The Bedford Avenue bike lane saga. A judge has temporarily halted Mayor Eric Adams’ removal of a stretch of protected bike lane on a part of Bedford Avenue that cuts through the Hasidic section of Williamsburg.
The city’s Department of Transportation installed the barriers just last year, but Adams said he plans to revert to the previous design after parents complained that their kids had to dodge cyclists to get from their parked cars to the sidewalk.
E-bike demolition. As part of a public crackdown on unregistered vehicles, city sanitation crews steamrolled dozens of unregistered mopeds and e-bikes on Staten Island last week.
Bridge birds. A belated happy Father’s Day to the peregrine falcon dads who’ve been guarding their chicks atop the George Washington and Bayonne bridges.
Is Cuomo allowed to park in the middle of the road? Andrew Cuomo’s Dodge Charger — which has racked up four automated tickets for speeding in school zones since late March — was seen parked in the middle of a left turn lane on Eighth Avenue in Midtown this week. (Hell Gate)
The bus drivers’ union likes the free bus idea. Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen didn’t go as far as endorsing Zohran Mamdani for mayor, but he did say he supports Mamdani’s pitch for free buses because it would free drivers from having to get in potentially dangerous disputes over fare payments. (New York Post)
Listen to us talk about all this! Download our app and tune in to “All Things Considered” around 4 p.m. every Thursday. And catch up on last week’s segment in case you missed it.
Curious Commuter
Have a question for us? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!
Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Sign up for free here.
Question from George in Brooklyn
I recently used an "SBS" bus in Brooklyn. There were many MetroCard machines on the sidewalk so that I could get a ticket before boarding, but no OMNY machine to do the same. Will OMNY machines replace the MetroCard machines at SBS bus stops? Will riders have to tap their OMNY card to enter, including at all doors in the double-length buses?
Answer
The MTA plans to end MetroCard sales by the end of the year. But the agency still needs to figure out how to adapt OMNY to its select bus system. For more than 15 years, the system has improved speeds on the city’s busiest bus lines. When the select bus system launched, riders were required to scan their MetroCards at a curbside kiosk and get a receipt, which speeds up the boarding process.
But that process is about to change now that the OMNY tap-to-pay is fully replacing the MetroCard. Currently, riders who use OMNY can pay at digital readers near the rear doors of select buses. That’s not a luxury afforded to local bus riders — the MTA has declined to allow rear-door boarding on those routes (which could speed up service) because officials are concerned it would lead to more fare evasion.
Tapping to pay at the rear door isn’t as fast as paying at a kiosk on the curb. But MTA spokesperson Joana Flores said the transit agency is not planning on installing OMNY card machines on sidewalks. All select bus riders will have to line up and tap at OMNY readers once the MetroCards are gone — and if an enforcement agent enters the bus demanding proof of payment, riders will have to provide their smartphone or credit card they used to pay their fare or risk a summons. And if you want to buy a physical OMNY card you can reload with cash, the MTA has a list of select retail locations where they’re available for purchase (they’re also for sale at vending machines in subway stations).
Tagged
On The Way
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new york city
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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