MTA Announces Service Changes For 4, 5, 6 Lines For August

NEW YORK, NY — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is making major changes to its 4, 5, 6 train service — from Aug. 10 through Aug. 31 — in the name of "replacing old track switches" near 14 St-Union Sq.

Service on the three trains will remain unchanged during weekdays, but there will be no service during the 21 days on the 4, 5, 6 trains south of Grand Central-42nd Street on weeknights and weekends.

Starting TONIGHT we’re doing 21 days of intense work on nights and weekends to replace old track switches near 14 St-Union Sq.

Here's what you need to know about how to get around during these service changes on the 4, 5, and 6 between Grand Central-42 St and Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/7AUr7ptbyX
— NYCT Subway. Wear a Mask. Fill out the Census. (@NYCTSubway) August 10, 2020

"The switches between the southbound local and express tracks north of 14 St-Union Sq are at the end of their useful lives — they were last replaced more than 20 years ago," the MTA says on its website. "Reliable switches are critical to keeping trains running on time and allow us to move around stopped trains if there is a disruption, like a rider needing medical attention."

Here's what you need to know about the weeknight and weekend service changes for the three trains from Aug. 10-31:

• 4 trains will run between the Woodlawn station in the Bronx and Grand Central 42nd Street in Manhattan. The 4 will make only local stops in Manhattan.
• 5 trains will run in the Bronx only.
• 6 trains will run between the Pelham Bay Park station in the Bronx and Grand Central 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Along with the track switch repairs, the MTA will focus on a collection of "fast track" improvements on the 4, 5, and 6 lines during the closures.

In an effort to provide additional service near 4 and 5 stations in Lower Manhattan, N trains will make local stops in Manhattan on the R line.

For other alternative services, you can use the 7 train to connect to the 2, 3, N, Q, R lines at Times Sq-42nd Street. The 42nd Street Shuttle will also start running again to help riders during these changes.

However, the Shuttle does not run on weeknights.

The subway is still closed for cleaning every night from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

You can find out more about the 4, 5, 6, service changes on the MTA's website.