Big transit changes are on the way that will directly affect Roosevelt Island subway service according to the Manhattan Community Board 8 September 3rd Transportation Committee meeting.
Starting December 2025, the MTA will swap the F and M train routes on weekdays, moving the F to the 53rd Street tunnel and sending the M though 63rd Street tunnel, which means Roosevelt Island riders will board the M during the day but return to the F at night and on weekends. On weekdays from 6:00 am to 9:30 pm the M will run through 63rd Street and stop at Roosevelt Island while the F shifts to 53rd Street, and after 9:30pm and all weekend long the service reverts so the F returns to 63rd Street and the M does not run to Queens.
MTA officials say this will ease congestion at Queens Plaza, cut delays, and reduce crowding on the F, though many worry that having one train serve Roosevelt Island on weekdays and another on nights and weekends will be confusing and leave riders stranded, and there are also questions about whether the M will run often enough to meet local demand.
At the same time, NYC Ferry is planning a major redesign of its network, with highlights including a new combined Soundview-Rockaway route running from the Bronx through East 90th Street, East 34th Street, Wall Street, Sunset Park, and Rockaway, giving Rockaway riders one-seat access to Midtown and Bronx riders a direct trip to the beach, as well as extending the Staten Island route to connect through Brooklyn and splitting the East River line into two “skip-stop” services to improve frequency. Every route will run every 45 minutes or better at rush hour, larger boats will ease East River crowding, and all major job hubs in Manhattan will be directly connected.
For Roosevelt Island ferry riders however, service will remain on the Astoria line with no immediate increase in frequency, even though residents have urged more boats and shorter wait times.
Altogether, city agencies say these changes will make travel faster, less crowded, and more reliable, but Roosevelt Island residents remain cautious, noting that while the plans look promising on paper, much will depend on how well the details are carried out and whether local concerns about frequency, clarity, and safety are addressed.
The MTA announced on September 29:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that New York City Transit will swap F and M train service between Manhattan and Queens, eliminating a merge at Queens Plaza that has caused delays to Queens Boulevard riders. This swap will improve service on the E,F,M,R lines by providing consistent running times and better on-time performance for the 1.2 million riders who use these lines every day.
The
route swap was presented to the MTA board and will go into effect on Dec. 8. Customers can learn more about the service change by at mta.info/fmswap
The new service pattern between the Queens Boulevard corridor and Manhattan will be in effect weekdays from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. During these times, the F will run via the 53 St line and Queens Plaza, alongside the E .
During this time F trains will now make stops at the following stations:
- Queens Plaza
- Court Sq
- Lexington–53 St
- 5 Av–53 St
The M will run via the 63 St line and Roosevelt Island on weekdays from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will now make stops at the following stations:
- 21 St Queensbridge
- Roosevelt Island
- Lexington–63 St
- 57 St
There will be no change from current service late evenings, nights, and weekends.
“NYC Transit is implementing smart changes that will enhance reliability and operational resilience which ultimately results in better service that customers can count on,” said NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow. “Running the
via the 53 St line and the
“We’ve received a lot of customer feedback regarding delays on the line,” said NYC Transit Senior Vice President of Subways Bill Amarosa. “Swapping the
The service change is expected to improve reliability of service for all Queens Boulevard line trains (
) by eliminating the shared track segment between the
and
By eliminating the merges at Queens Plaza, any delays to local
This service change is part of the MTA’s commitment to the many communities it serves. It will increase reliability by improving service and reducing delays on the
These service changes follow the Re-NEW-vation program at Roosevelt Island’s F station completed in October 2024 that saw the station get a deep cleaning, more than 10,000 sq. feet of surfaces repainted including the exterior façade, all light fixtures converted to more efficient LED lights, and many other improvements.
The MTA will use multiple platforms for advance notification to riders of the changes through:
- Maps
- “Look ahead” posters
- Handouts / Brochures
- Website and digital feeds
- Announcements
- Onboard train signage and electronic strips maps
- Digital screens
- Station signage
- Customer Ambassadors …
This is so dumb
Reason?
This will not ease crowding on the 63rd street line. Running the M on the local line only means more stops between Queens and Manhattan, which will result in longer wait times, and increase the number of passengers per stop.
This doesn’t resolve any of the problems they’re describing, it makes them worse. The actual solution is to just run F trains more frequently.
Actually, the M train is way less crowded than the F train after 36th St. That means swapping the M for the F means 63rd St riders like Roosevelt Island won’t get crush loaded trains anymore. That is how the swap decreases crowding.
You have to assume the M train to be at 84 percent capacity after 36th St to match the current crowding levels of the F train. That does not happen.
Finally, your solution of running more F train is unachievable without the F/M Swap. Right now, the biggest delay generator on the F train is the 36th St to Queens Plaza Interlocking. This interlocking creates a ton of delays, which is why the F train ran less trains than it did in 2001, before the F was changed. The swap targets this merge and removes it, which means the F train can run more trains.
So the swap decreases crowding for 63rd St commuters by swapping a crush loaded train for an under crowded train, removes one of the worst merges in the system, increases reliability for all four lines currently affected by the merge, and has the potential to increase more trips on the E/F lines. It is a win win win.