1 Train Repairs To Disrupt Subway Service In Upper Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY — Repairs along the 1 line will significantly disrupt subway service in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx starting at the end of the month, the MTA announced Friday.

The work will force 1 train service to be suspended overnight and on weekends starting 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 28, between 137th Street–City College in Harlem and Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street in the Bronx.

The work will last 15 weeks, as New York City Transit workers replace a mile of track and switches between the two stations. Free shuttle buses will run during construction, or riders can take the A train as an alternative.

Here are the details about how the 1 line construction will work:

• Weeknights: from 9:15 p.m. to 1 a.m., 1 trains will run between South Ferry and 137th Street. A shuttle train will run between Dyckman Street and 242nd Street, while two shuttle buses will run between 137th and Dyckman and 191st and 168th streets
• Extra weeknight work will cause wider disruptions during three periods: Jan. 11-14, Jan. 18-21 and Jan. 25-28. During those nights, 1 trains will not run between 96th and Dyckman streets, with shuttle buses filling in the gaps.
• Weekends: Starting Jan. 1, train service will be suspended from 9:30 p.m. Fridays to 5 a.m. Mondays between 137th and 242nd streets until March 22. Riders are encouraged to use the A and C lines to affected stations.

The MTA is taking advantage of low ridership during the pandemic to do much-needed repairs across the subway system. Ridership has plunged by up to 90 percent on some lines, and the subways remain closed for disinfecting between 1 and 5 a.m. each night.

Despite the disruptions, the MTA says the repairs will help make 1 train service more reliable once they are complete.

“Once this work is completed our 1 line customers will enjoy that much smoother of a ride," acting NYC Transit President Sarah Feinberg said in a statement. "We have been in close contact with community leaders and local elected officials about this work, and would like to thank our customers for their patience while it's performed."

In pre-pandemic times, the segment of the 1 line affected by these repairs served 156,000 riders each weekday and 176,000 riders on weekends.