The Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave. station in Hunters Point. Service on the 7 train will be suspended on weekends between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square from the end of December 2012 to March 2013.
(DNAinfo.com/Jeanmarie Evelly)
LONG ISLAND CITY — Major service disruptions are coming to the 7 train line during weekends this winter.
The disruptions will start the weekend of Dec. 29 and continue each weekend through March 25. Trains will stop running at 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays and will resume at 5 a.m. on Mondays, MTA spokesman Charles Seaton said.
Service will be affected at the stations between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square, an MTA spokesman confirmed Monday.
Straphangers can board free shuttle buses that will run between the Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave. station and to Queensboro Plaza, where they can transfer to the N or the Q train on the Astoria line, where there will be increased service on weekends, Seaton said.
Riders can also take the E train to reach the Court Square and Queens Plaza stations from Queensboro Plaza.
The service changes are due to a new signal system that’s being installed along the line. Crews are rushing to get the work done before the start of baseball season, when the 7 train is packed with Mets fans traveling to Citi Field.
“It makes it a lot more difficult to shut it down on the weekends then,” Seaton said. “The number 7 is always a busy line.”
The ongoing repair work has been a headache to riders who live and work in Hunters Point. The 7 train was suspended for five weekends this past fall, and the Court Square station was closed for 10 weeks earlier this year.
“It’s always off on weekends,” said Francisco Fernandez, 25, who commutes from his home on the Upper East Side to his job at Fresh Direct in Long Island City, often on weekends.
He says the shuttle buses take too long, so he’ll likely end up taking taxis.
“That’s a lot of cab money for me,” he sighed.
Why cant they do fastrack instead. Also why must they do this during the coldest part of the year, who want to wait outside for a bus in the cold? Just not fair.