F Train Riders: Express Service Will Return This Summer Like It’s 1987
Oh, hey, F-train riders—especially those living around Bergen Street, or Carroll Street, or Smith and 9th Street: your summer is about to get a little less crowded—F express service is returning to your tracks starting this summer, between Church Avenue and Jay Street-Metrotech.
Gothamist reports the service change was, purportedly, the passion project of Council Member David Greenfield, who has advocated for it for many years. When the MTA said it would enact the plan, Greenfield said, “This is a huge victory for Brooklyn’s commuters, who for years have had to endure lengthy commutes and overcrowded trains,” and, he continued, “In my very first campaign over six years ago, I literally ran on this issue. I will never forget standing at F train stations, asking people for their votes so I could fight to restore the F express.”
Oh, what times those were.
But, wait: fight to restore F express? To what once-existent F express service is he referring? A bit of F train history: Prior to 1987, F express trains really existed! Think about it—if you’ve stood inside any of the above mentioned stations, you’ll recall now that there are indeed installed express tracks! But you likely don’t think much about them because for the past 29 years they haven’t been used with any regularity. Express service ended due to track work and then, due to budget constraints, never returned. Meanwhile, F service has only gotten worse while F riders have only surged.
Now, with limited F service starting this summer, and a steadily growing number of express trains planned to run regularly during rush hours, riders around Bergen Street (and farther south) might actually be able to step on to the first train that comes their way, rather than wait for a second. Furthermore, Greenfield’s office pointed out, there will be less competition between the F and G trains (and fewer resulting delays), which otherwise share the same track for that stretch.
For a city that relies so heavily on its trains, service changes like this are quite exciting—especially when it means, god forbid, you might even get a seat on your morning commute.