You Say “Tomato,” I Say “The N And W Lines Suck Eggs”

Tuesday, The New York Times noted that “The No. 6 Is Rated No. 1 In Straphangers’ Report”. Today, the Queens Chronicle reports the real story — “N, W Subway Lines Ranked Worst In City”:

In its annual report on the subway system released Monday, the Straphangers Campaign slapped three Queens subway lines with the dubious distinction of being among the five worst rated. Only one Queens line rated among the five best.

The report, which assessed each line for frequency of service, delays, breakdowns, seat availability, cleanliness and announcement clarity, ranked the N and W lines as worst with a $0.75 “MetroCard” rating, followed by the M with a $0.85 rating and the D, G, R, V with a $0.95 rating. Only the No. 7 line scored among the five best, with a $1.15 rating.

. . .

Kiro, a 31 year old waiter from Kew Gardens, called the E train “cool but smelly,” adding that “the trains aren’t very clean.”

Kenyatta Johnson, 25, of Kew Gardens, had some complaints of his own about the E and F trains that were not covered in the Straphangers report. “I’ve been in a bunch of trains in the past few days that had no air conditioning,” he said. “And I waited almost 45 minutes for a train the other night.”

Johnson also said that the Union Turnpike station was particularly dirty with “rats as big as cats.” He added: “They jump up on the platform and just look at you.”