The F-Train Will Likely Mess Up Your Commute Through May

MTA diversions and station closures are always a pain. But, they are also necessary if travelers want a safe and secure commute to and from work and other parts of the Big Apple.

Nonetheless, get ready for a real pain in your daily commute if you live or work around Brownstone Brooklyn. Although Brooklyn residents, as well as MTA officials, have known it was coming for a while, it doesn't make it any easier.

Starting January 10 and continuing through May 2011, straphangers that frequent the F-line in Brooklyn will see plenty of station closures and a whole lot of diversions.

Why is this happening? The Smith-Ninth Street station is in desperate need of serious repair and maintenance. In fact, during this work period, no Queens-bound trains will stop at Smith-Ninth at all.

If you need to get to that station, you can use the G-train's makeshift temporary platform - which probably has plenty of Brooklynites dreading their daily commute. The G-train is mockingly referred to by many as the "ghost train" as it has plenty of its own problems, so the temporary platform along this line may have regular commuters questioning how well this will all work.

Through May 2011, even more trains will be diverted as all Queens-bound F-trains will also skip both 15^th Street-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Parkway stations.

And these are only the upcoming plans through May 2011. The entire project will be completed in 2012, with plenty of other station closures and diversions in the near future.

The MTA has announced that free shuttle buses will also replace some of the train stops near and around the affected areas. For the next five months, and through the completion of this project, it is highly advisable that commuters check the MTA website for any service advisories before heading to the platform.

Source -
The Brooklyn Paper, "The real F-ing mess starts next week"