MTA to Perform Repairs on E/M East River Tunnel Before Year’s End 

The MTA announced a 24/7 service outage as of Dec. 8 on two lines along the 53 St. tunnel to perform maintenance and upgrades over the course of five consecutive days of anticipated low ridership.

MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced a 24/7 service outage as of Dec. 8 on two lines along the 53 St. tunnel to perform maintenance and signal upgrades over the course of five consecutive days. 

The planned work will affect the E and M lines and is meant to enhance service reliability and infrastructure resiliency, including electrical repairs in pump rooms to support water drainage and minimize service delays caused by rain and flooding. 

Crews will also continue work on an escalator replacement at Lexington Ave./53 St., which began in October. Signal upgrades are also set to be made as part of installation work at the Queens Blvd and 8 Ave. CBTC. 

Starting in the early morning of Dec. 26 through the morning of Saturday, Dec. 31, E trains will be rerouted via the F line between Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Ave. and W 4 St-Washington Sq, and M trains will not operate between Delancey St-Essex St and Forest Hills-71 Ave., according to a release. 

“Ridership is significantly lower during this holiday week compared to other weekdays, and the schedule’s efficiency means almost an entire month of weekend work can be accomplished in a single five-day period,” MTA said in a release. The agency said regularly scheduled service prior to New Year’s Eve.