More Trains Planned On No. 7 Line
BY LIZ GOFF

New York City Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr. last week announced that the agency would add trains on the No. 7 line to beef up service before and after the rush hour commuter periods, to address complaints voiced by straphangers in a recent subway survey.

Straphangers surveyed last month in the firstever "Subway Report Card" gave the No. 7 line a C-minus, citing a lack of room on trains at rush hour, hard-to-understand announcements in stations and on trains and a lack of cleanliness on subway cars and in stations as the most serious in a list of troubling conditions on the Queens line.

Just five of 21 categories listed in 13 languages on the survey received higher than a Cminus, transit officials said. Straphangers rated the availability of MetroCard vending machines as a B-plus, courtesy and helpfulness of station personnel and comfortable temperatures in subway cars rated a C and availability of subway signs and easy-to-use turnstiles rated a C-plus, transit officials said.

The No. 7 was the first line to be surveyed, Roberts said. Almost 16,000 riders on the famous Queens line mailed in the surveys or submitted them online to the Transit Authority.

Roberts said the extra trains would be added to the No. 7 line beginning in December 2007 but was unable to say how many trains would be added, or at what times they will run. The changes cannot be put into place until December because of transit union rules that dictate how subway crews are assigned, said Roberts.

Roberts said he cannot add trains during the morning and evening rush hours because the No. 7 line is already running to capacity at those times. Adding trains before and after rush hour will enable the agency to "spread the peak" and attract riders who are able to change their schedules, Roberts said.

Transit watchdog groups said the added trains would reward straphangers who are willing to rearrange their schedules for a less crowded ride.

Gene Russianoff, spokesperson for the Straphangers Campaign, said, "I think some people will take advantage of the added trains on off-peak periods. One reason why people travel to and from work at rush hour is because the trains run more frequently. With the added trains, people who are willing - or able to rearrange their schedules will be rewarded with less crowded cars."

Roberts said he also plans to change the way trains are cleaned on the No. 7 line.

Trains are currently cleaned when they reach Main Street, the Queens end of the line. The practice allows trash to accumulate in subway cars all the way to Manhattan and back again before they are swept and cleaned. Roberts said he plans to put additional cleaning crews at the Times Square station in Manhattan to clean the trains before they head back to Queens.

Roberts said workers will now also check subway speaker systems on a daily basis to make repairs that will ensure clear, audible announcements in cars and on stations throughout the system.