Express F Train Plan Could Be Derailed At Next MTA Meeting

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Brooklynites on either side of the debate over new express trains that will be added to the F line in September can make their voices heard at an MTA meeting next week.

The MTA is set to discuss its addition of four express trains to the F line's daily service at a Transit Committee meeting on Monday morning.

At least one speaker, Council Member Brad Lander, is already set to make his voice heard about the service change. Lander has started a petition against the new express trains and said he plans to bring it to the MTA meeting.

"I'll be bringing your signatures calling for a *real* F express-one that adds rather than reduces service," Lander said in a Tweet this week.

Lander and other elected officials have blasted the new express trains, which would skip stops between Church Avenue and Jay Street/MetroTech during morning and evening rush hours, since they were announced last week.

The transit agency has said the express trains, two during morning rush hour and two during evening rush hour each day, will shorten commutes for riders that often spend 50 minutes or more commuting to Manhattan from Brooklyn. The morning express trains, between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., will be Manhattan-bound and the evening express trains, between 5 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., will be Coney Island-bound.

But Lander and others say the new trains are actually a cut to service for Brooklynites that already struggle to reach their local stops. They contend that the MTA has already been using express F trains without giving notice to passengers, who get stuck on the train and are taken far from home.

The council member found in a survey of 250 riders earlier this year that all but four days in January at least some riders have fallen victim to what he calls a #RogueFExpress. The results revealed that 75 percent of riders missed their stop when the F train went rogue and 63 percent said they heard no announcement about the change before they boarded.

The issue has split Brooklynites between those who find the express trains useful and those who live near one of the local stops.

The MTA Transit Committee meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at 2 Broadway in Manhattan on the 20th floor. Lander has encouraged those who want to speak at the meeting to arrive at 9:45 a.m. to sign up.