MTA announces lengthy N-train tunnel closure on Twitter

Monday morning was particularly hellacious for commuters traveling along the D, N, and R lines out of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. While commuters reported delays, the MTA’s website initially maintained that service was running smoothly. Little did customers know that part of the problem was the fact that the tunnel for the express N train between 59th and 36th Streets had been shut down for repairs for five months.

That only became apparent when the NYCT Subway account on Twitter responded to a commuter’s complaints about the delays. This was a staggering misstep for the agency, which has vowed to improve its communication skills over the past year. While the work itself isn’t the biggest headache for commuters all things considered, the way it was announced had many of them fuming.

So here’s what up: the beams holding up the express tunnel are in need of repairs, which is why the MTA needs to shutdown the tunnel for the next five months. While the repairs are ongoing, the N train will run on the local track in both directions, according to Metro. This will mean the addition of two stops for N train riders and will potentially lengthen their commute by 5 minutes.

The MTA on its part said such a situation wouldn’t arise again, and that the problem on Monday was caused by the fact that the signals weren’t reconfigured for the change in service. Here’s hoping for better communication in the future.

• NYC subway closes N train tunnel for 5 months with no notice [Metro]
• Today’s subway meltdown highlights the MTA’s larger communications problem [Curbed]