F and M Trains to Swap Routes Between Manhattan and Queens

The F and M trains are to swap routes between Queens and Manhattan permanently in December 2025 to improve the efficiency of the subway service in New York.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

F and M Trains to Share Tracks Between Manhattan and Queens

The F and M trains will change routes permanently between Manhattan and Queens from December 8, 2025. The move aims to improve reliability on weekdays and mitigate congestion within the subway network in New York City.

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The F train will be rerouted to the 53rd Street corridor with stops at Queens Plaza, Court Square-23 St, Lexington Av/53 St, and 5 Av-53 St. The M train will be rerouted to the 63rd Street corridor with stops at 21 St – Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island-City Hall, Lexington Av-63 St, and 57 St.

The F will continue to run express in Queens from 6am to 9:30pm on weekdays; however, the M will run local. But there will be no change during weekends and late nights; therefore, passengers still need to use the current station alignment to board these lines.

F & M Trains Switch to Mitigate Delays and Enhance Flow

The MTA believes that this route change would remove the congested-merge areas that currently cause trains to stop moving in Queens Plaza. The reason that there would be smoother operations is that fewer trains will be sharing the same rails.

Following the change, the F line will connect with two other lines through shared tracks instead of three, while the M line will be reduced from four to three. This means that the trains will no longer be required to stop to allow crossing movements.

As the M has fewer trains running compared to the F, to reduce wait times as riders adjust to the new schedule, the MTA will boost the frequency of the M line during peak periods.

In addition to these, new transfer opportunities are to be enjoyed by commuters making use of the Jackson Hts – Roosevelt Av line, 47-50 Sts – Rockefeller Ctr line, and the free transfer between the Lexington Av / 63 St and 59 St subway lines.

The MTA was keen to stress that this design restores the original aims of its modernization plan to optimize train operations, ensure equilibrium in track capacity, and improve service reliability for its millions-strong ridership.

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