MTA report identifies Bushwick stations among city's worst transit bottlenecks, but no fixes slated
A new report from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority highlights some of the subway system's biggest bottlenecks; locations where track layouts and aging infrastructure regularly cause delays for hundreds of thousands of riders each day.
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If your commute through Bushwick feels like it's constantly delayed, you're not alone.
A new report from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority highlights some of the subway system's biggest bottlenecks; locations where track layouts and aging infrastructure regularly cause delays for hundreds of thousands of riders each day. Among the stations singled out in the report are Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues and Myrtle-Broadway, two major transit hubs serving Brooklyn commuters.
Riders at those stations say the findings come as no surprise.
"There's always some bottleneck," said one commuter waiting on the platform at Myrtle-Broadway. "I just had two J trains turn into an M, then kick me off here. I'm still waiting. It's been 15 minutes."
Another rider echoed that frustration, saying delays have become a regular part of the trip home from work.
"Coming home from work, it's always like this," the commuter said.
According to the MTA, bottlenecks typically occur where multiple train lines intersect and must share tracks, forcing trains to wait for one another before moving through busy sections of the system. Delays can also occur in areas where track configurations limit train speeds.
Myrtle-Broadway is an example of both problems. The station serves the J, M, and Z lines and sits along one of the network's more complex sections, where train traffic can back up during peak travel periods.
Commuters also say recent service changes involving the F and M lines have made travel times feel even longer.
"I feel like it's taking longer," one rider said. "At every stop you hear, 'We're being held because of a train ahead.'"
Another commuter described afternoon service as consistently slow.
The MTA says some bottleneck locations identified in the report are expected to receive signal modernization and other infrastructure improvements aimed at increasing reliability and reducing delays. However, relief is not expected anytime soon for every station on the list.
For now, riders traveling through Myrtle-Wyckoff and Myrtle-Broadway may have to continue factoring extra time into their daily commutes as the transit agency works toward longer-term fixes.
The same report did identify other Brooklyn bottlenecks such as DeKalb Interlocking and Nostrand Junction, as areas in need of a more immediate fix.
