More problems to struggle with for uptown riders
1 Train Service Suspended Uptown on Weeknights for Next 2 Weeks
By Carolina Pichardo
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The 1 train will be shut down between Dyckman Street and 96th Street every weeknight for the next two weeks to allow the MTA to repair the tracks, officials said.
The FASTRACK maintenance program will be in effect from June 19 to 23 and June 26 to 30, leaving travelers to rely on the A and C trains as well as shuttle buses, the MTA said.
The suspensions — which will run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. — means that 1 trains will run in two loops: between 242nd Street and Dyckman Street and between 96th Street and South Ferry.
The 1 train will skip the 207th Street and 145th Street stations during those times.
The MTA said weeknight work reduces overall train delays and decreases the number of track fires, issues that have tormented 1 train subway riders in the past.
Uptown riders have struggled with problem-plagued 1 train service, particularly at the 168th Street, 181st Street and 191st Street stations, where elevators are the only way to enter and exit the station. Those elevators were ranked among the top 10 worst elevators in Manhattan, based on MTA statistics of elevator breakdowns.
The MTA said riders can use the A, C line and free shuttle buses during the FASTRACK times. Shuttle buses will be available to transfer riders from the 1 train to the A train on Dyckman Street and 59th St-Columbus Circle.
The free shuttle buses will be looping on Dyckman Street between the 1 and A station. Riders are then expected to take the A train to 168th Street and transfer to a shuttle bus that will stop along Broadway on 157th Street, 145th Street, 137th Street, 125th Street, 116th Street, 103rd Street and Cathedral Parkway until reaching 96th Street.
There will be another bus stopping along St. Nicholas Avenue on 168th Street, 181st Street and 191st Street.
