Subway Riders Claim Brooklyn F Train Has Gone Rogue, Goes Express Without Warning
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – F train riders in Brooklyn say the train has been running express with little notice and leaving those who need local stops in a lurch.
CBS2's Valerie Castro went seeking answering about why the subway has gone rogue.
Passengers continually surprised by announcements from conductors.
More schedule adjustments. One recent F train making express stops to 7th Avenue, followed by Church Avenue.
"All of a sudden, the train which is supposed to stop at their local stations doesn't stop at their local station so they have to ride past and get back and turn around," city council member Brad Lander said.
"Yes totally unexpected, you never know why," F train rider Kathy Dahab added.
The announcements seem to happen at Jay Street Metro Tech and the MTA claims the unscheduled changes are meant to shorten gaps in service when something goes wrong.
Lander has a different viewpoint.
"Every night it's a different story. Tonight there was a police incident at this station, that night there was an unruly passenger at this station."
Riders say besides the unexpected change, announcements don't come often enough, if at all.
"They make the announcement, but you're on there already... It is annoying when you want to go home and you have to wait," Dahab explained.
Council member Lander has created an F train express incident form, including the question, "did you hear an announcement that the train was going express before you boarded?"
"About half the people report there was an announcement, a little over half, 60 percent report they did not hear an announcement," Lander reported.
The results of the survey will be delivered to the MTA.
The MTA said as part of its "fast forward" goals to improve the subways overall, it's working to improve clarity of public announcements made on trains.
