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No A train service in Rockaway for 4 months next year, MTA announces
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Nov 3, 2024
Modified Nov 5, 2024
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MTA/Marc A. Hermann
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Nov 3, 2024
Modified Nov 5, 2024
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The MTA will shut down A train service in the Rockaways for four months starting in January, disrupting the commutes of more than 9,000 daily riders.
Beginning on Jan. 17, the A trains won’t run between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the last stops of the line, either Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St. or Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. The Rockaway Park Shuttle trains will also stop running to and from Broad Channel.
The MTA says the lengthy suspension of service is necessary to fortify infrastructure against extreme weather. The viaducts and bridge that carry trains across Broad Channel need “major upgrades to help protect the line from future storms,” the MTA wrote in an announcement.
The agency noted that much of the work is in response to extensive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. It took seven months to restore service to Rockaway after the storm in October 2012.
Free bus shuttle service will be available along the affected stops. The announcement gave no indication that NYC Ferry service from Rockaway would be expanded while the upgrades are underway. MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan said regular subway service will be restored by May 19.
Far Rockaway resident Quazel Trower said the shutdown will upend his life.
“There’s only one train that goes to Far Rockaway. It’s not like two trains, three trains. It’s literally one,” Trower, 27, said. “Taking the shuttle bus always makes your commute longer than it needs to be.”
Trower said his typical commute into Manhattan already takes more than an hour.
In a statement, MTA Deputy Chief Development Officer, Mark Roche, said that the plan was consistent with what has been done in the past for the L train Canarsie Tunnel project and G line modernization work.
"This next phase of the A train resiliency work has undergone internal and external expert review to weigh alternate delivery and construction methods," he said. "It was determined that the plan presented is the best option for getting this work done as quickly as possible, with the least impact to commuters.”
Climate resiliency is at the center of the MTA’s proposed $65.4 billion five-year construction plan. The agency earmarked $1.5 billion to protect subway stations from flooding. Some of that money would also go toward a sea wall and fortifications at “erosion hot spots” along the Metro-North’s Hudson line.
For more details on weekend service and planned service changes, check the MTA website.
This story has been corrected to state the shutdown lasts from Jan. 17 to around May 19, which is four months.
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Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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