Give Me An F! Give Me An M! Now Switch!

 

Here we go!  December 8th; or in less than two weeks, there's gonna be a big change in New York City.  I'm going to try and explain it here.  We'll see how it goes.

The F Line and the M Line are part of the orange subways.  There's also a B and a D that's orange, but this doesn't have anything to do with them.

There are subway tunnels at 53rd Street; used by the M.  It routes it to stop at certain stations back and forth across the East River from Queens to Manhattan and back.  Soon, it will run the route that the F train runs between 6 am and 9:30 pm on weekdays and go through the route set up with the 63rd street tunnel.  That route is currently used by the F line.  The F line will switch the the 53rd Street tunnel during those hours and run the M line route.

Why would anyone do this?  What point could it make?

Here's the thing.  Some routes are busier than others during peak times.  This is when everyone is going to and from work and school all week long.  It's long since been a simple fact that a lot of people work in Manhattan, but live in Queens.  It's an economic thing.  This puts a lot of traffic on certain routes.

This simple switch is designed to ease traffic going between the boroughs.  That's all I know.  M will stop at Roosevelt Island and F won't.  That's a big part of the change.  Stations like Queens Plaza need a break and this supposedly will help.

Some stations will be different during those times.  My advice is to learn the times if you're a regular rider.  That way you only need to consult the map during the switch hours.  Always watch the maps.

Now, how does this affect the rest of those subway lines?  It doesn't.  This switch is very local.  There are a lot of stops that both subways stop at.  There will be no changes in the routes in Brooklyn and most of Manhattan.  It's the area around the East River around that Queensboro Bridge.  That's where the bottle neck in traffic is.  If you've ever been to Queen's Plaza, you'll understand the traffic backup.

There are limited tracks at Queens Plaza and too many lines coming through.  The M is just busier than the F, and this is the place that they're trying to alleviate the backups.  Most people aren't going to that station.  They're going further.  The lesser used F stops on Roosevelt Island, and by making this switch; the traffic should mellow out.  A little more for the F.  A little less for the M.  It could make a huge difference in crowds and delays.

So, remember the switch.  Just wanted to make a note of it for all of you New Yorkers reading.  December 8th.  Watch the station and online maps.  Check the times.  Make that adjustment.

Don't let the switch intimidate you.  It's really not that bad.  Enjoy!

https://www.mta.info/article/f-m-swap

https://secretnyc.co/f-m-trains-route-swap-december/

https://gothamist.com/news/mta-to-swap-f-m-subway-routes-between-manhattan-and-queens                             

https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/f-and-m-subway-swap-in-manhattan-and-queens/                     

Check out the articles and learn it the way it makes sense to you and Check out my YouTube Channel, Adventures for Anyone with Terri Dixon for more about New York and getting around!

https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresforanyone2025               

Thanks for reading!  Enjoy!  Happy Thanksgiving!