By Philip Newman
The Straphangers Campaign has proclaimed the No. 7 as the best subway line in the city, the fifth time the line that runs through northern Queens has gotten top billing.
The transit advocacy agency said the No. 7 came out best in five out of six categories and missed perfection only because of problems with on-board announcements.
The route displaced last year’s winner, the L train, which came in as runner-up.
“The No. 7 and L both have independent managers and more resources,” said Russianoff.
“As the subways are run by managers with greater authority and accountability, we hope they can improve service, even if the lines are not getting added cleaning staffing and will absorb cuts in maintenance and station personnel,” Russianoff said.
The No. 7, which runs from Times Square in Manhattan to Main Street in Flushing on a mostly elevated route, came in at the top for the fifth time since the Straphangers began its “State of the Subways” report in 1997.
The No. 7 ranked highest because it performed above average in five categories: frequency of scheduled service, regularity of service, delays caused by mechanical breakdowns, seat availability at rush hours and fewer dirty cars. The No. 7, however, scored low on announcements.
The C line was worst of all, with chronic mechanical breakdowns and dirty cars as well as all-around poor performance. The C was also judged worst in 2007 and 2001.
“The C suffers from a variety of problems, notably ancient cars, some dating back to the 1960s,” said Gene Russianoff, attorney for the Straphangers.
The Straphangers said the average subway car breakdown rate worsened from an average mechanical failure every 149,646 miles in 2007 to 134,795 in 2008, a drop of almost 10 percent.
“This is a poor trend, raising questions about the maintenance of an aging fleet,” Russianoff said.
Otherwise:
• the N had the best record on delays caused by mechanical failures — once every 327,191 miles. The C was the worst, with breakdowns every 61,603 miles
• the L was the cleanest, with only 2 percent of cars dirty. The F was the dirtiest, with 20 percent of its cars dirty
• the best chance of getting a seat at rush hour was on the V, where riders had a 77 percent chance of sitting down. The L was worst, with only a 24 percent chance of a getting a seat
• the No. 6 line had the most scheduled service, with 2-1/2-minute intervals between trains in morning and evening rush hours. The M was worst, with 10 minutes between trains.
• the L had the greatest regularity of service, arriving within two to four minutes of its scheduled intervals 93 percent of the time. The most irregular was the No.2, which was regular only 81 percent of the time
• the Nos. 2, 5 and 6 and M lines had perfect performances for adequate announcements in subway cars; the B was worst, missing announcements 27 percent of the time
The G line was not graded due to what Straphangers called inadequate data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 136.
