Paused C Train Resumes As MTA Staff Rebound From Coronavirus

WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — The C train, which was paused for several weeks as the MTA dealt with staff shortages during the coronavirus pandemic, is back up and running, the transit agency announced.

The C line resumed service between 168th Street in Manhattan and Euclid Avenue in Brooklyn on Wednesday and will run every 10 to 15 minutes between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., the MTA announced.

The train had been one of five lines on pause for weeks and the A train, which will now start running express again, had been making local stops in the meantime. The B, W, Z and Times Square Shuttle are still not running.

The resumed C service comes as MTA workers who were out sick or quarantined are returning to the job, according to THE CITY. More than 4,400 of the 6,841 MTA workers who have come back to work are those who operate the subways and buses.

“As crews are coming back, we continue to operate our essential service plan moving the healthcare workers, first responders and other essential personnel on the frontlines of this crisis,” MTA Spokesperson Tim Minton told THE CITY.

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The rebounding workforce also means there will be more frequent service on the 2, 4 and Q lines this week, THE CITY reported.

The MTA started its "Essential Service" schedule late last month as ridership plunged across the transit system, which is still running to help essential workers get to their jobs.

The transit agency is projected to lose up to $8.5 billion this year after ridership plunged 95 percent amid the pandemic. One recent MIT study also found the city's public transit system was a "major disseminator" of coronavirus — a conclusion strongly disputed by MTA officials.

The MTA most recently announced a "temperature brigade" to help ensure COVID-19 does not spread amongst its workers, at least 84 of whom have died because of the virus. More than 3,500 temperatures are checked every day at 70 rotating locations, according to a release.

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