Rockaways' A train to be shut down Friday; LIRR offers special fare
Service on the A train in the Rockaways will be shut down for four months beginning Friday to address damage from Superstorm Sandy, affecting about 9,000 riders, the MTA said.
MTA trains won't run between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue or Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street from Friday night into May.
Rockaway Park Shuttle trains will not run to or from Broad Channel during the project, and will not run at all its first weekend from Friday at 11:30 p.m. through Monday at 5 a.m., the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on its website.
From the same time Friday night through May, A trains will run between Inwood-207th Street and Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard or Howard Beach-JFK Airport.
During the service change, the MTA reduced the fare for the Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway ticket to $2.75 each way. The fare is valid for travel between Far Rockaway and other LIRR stations in New York City.
During the shutdown, beginning Monday morning, free shuttle bus service will be available to riders along two routes. The Q97 will run nonstop between Howard Beach and Far Rockaway via Nassau Expressway. The Q109 will run from Howard Beach to Beach 67th Street via Broad Channel and Beach 90th Street.
For the weekend, there will be free shuttle buses on three routes: the Q97, Q98 and Q121.
Beginning Monday, a fare-free shuttle train will operate, serving all stations on the peninsula between Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park, for the duration of the outage, the MTA said.
The Rockaway Line suffered extensive damage as a result of Superstorm Sandy, which struck in October 2012. Emergency repairs restored service seven months after the storm. But the MTA said the storm's lingering damage on the coastal section of the A line requires major upgrades to viaducts and bridges carrying trains across Broad Channel, an island in Jamaica Bay.
All trains to the peninsula must cross Hammels Wye, an elevated structure where the train service can split westbound toward Rockaway Park and eastbound toward Far Rockaway, the MTA said. Decades of exposure and wear and tear have been cited for the structure's complete reconstruction.
Some 250 tons of steel will be used to reconstruct 1,600 feet of the structure as new rail and signal equipment will be installed. A complete reconstruction can only be completed with a service outage, the MTA said.
The MTA has said that the evolution of the extent of this project added years to its post-Sandy timeline.
Riders can visit the MTA’s website for more information about the service changes.
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