MTA’s State of Good Repair Work on 7 Line Slated for May

MTA F Train

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that state of good repair work on the 7 line's 82 St-Jackson Heights and 111 St stations in Queens will begin next month.

The planned work is part of state of a good repair project at seven Flushing Line stations that will modernize the customer experience, resulting in more efficient service for New York commuters, a release said. 

“The 7 train is already one the best performing lines and has some of the highest customer satisfaction in the system. This work will provide critical upgrades, security updates and customer experience improvements,” said New York City Transit President Richard Davey. “When completed, our customers will benefit from faster, cleaner, and safer service at these enhanced stations.”

Beginning May 12 at 11:45 p.m. and continuing through May 15 at 5 a.m., 7 train service will operate express between Main St and 74 St. Also beginning May 15 and continuing weekdays through the Fall of 2023, 7 trains will not stop at the 82 St Manhattan-bound platform. 

Commuters traveling Manhattan-bound to 82 St will be able to exit at 74 St and take a Flushing-bound train to 82 St. The 7 trains will also not stop at 111 St Manhattan-bound platform, a release said. 

Customers travelling Manhattan-bound to 111 St can exit at 103 St and take a Flushing-bound train to 111 St. Work on the Flushing-bound sides at 82 St and 111 St will begin later in 2023 and continue through the Spring of 2024. 

Crews will replace the stairs, eliminate uneven walking surfaces by replacing the mezzanine floor and platform, add new windscreens, artwork, and painting, upgrade and install light fixtures, and install CCTV cameras to improve safety, according to the MTA. 

“State of good repair work is crucial to keeping our system running smoothly for the millions of customers living and working along the 7 line, which boasts some of the busiest stations in our system,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “Carefully coordinating project schedules to maximize productivity during track outages allows our project team to minimize inconvenience to our riders as we deliver this vital project.” 

Project benefits of the 7 line improvements also include:  

• Circulation and accessibility upgrades at seven of the busiest stations on the 7 line, which are expected to improve efficiency of travel and extend the working life of the stations by 25 years 
• Full station renewals and state-of-good-repair work from 52 St to 111 St will help keep service running smoothly along the 7 line 
• Protection for the Steinway Tube could enable MTA to restore 7 line service more quickly after flood events 
• Working on multiple projects simultaneously will allow MTA to bring back full 7 service more quickly than during previous renovations on the line 

The MTA is closely coordinating the schedules of these projects to maximize the efficiency of track outages, the agency said.