[MTA] Preview files for the F/M Swap

[Shen-Cruz, Dillon]

Hi developers,

Starting December 8, F and M trains will permanently swap routes between Manhattan and Queens during weekday service.

We will update the official GTFS feed on the developer portal to reflect this change, starting December 3. To help you prepare, we've also published a preview of the updated GTFS files at the following link:

• https://rrgtfsfeeds.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/gtfs_subway_1208.zip.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Dillon

Dillon Shen-Cruz (he/him) 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

Product Manager, Data and APIs 

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[Steven Romalewski]

Thanks for sharing these preview GTFS files. When we extract the routes, the F line is shown along both the old and new routes between Manhattan and Queens.  The new M line appears to be correct.  Will you be able to publish a corrected version of the GTFS data?

Also, will MTA also update its files of subway stations (https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-Stations/39hk-dx4f/about_data) and subway entrances (https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-Entrances-and-Exits-2024/i9wp-a4ja/about_data) to reflect which stations and entrances will be switched between the new F and M routes?

Thanks,

Steve Romalewski

[Shen-Cruz, Dillon]

Thanks for your questions, Steve!

The shapes of the F line are correct. F trains will still stop along the "old" route on weekends and during late nights, so the GTFS files should include both routes. This doesn't apply to the M line, which is why the GTFS files only include the new route.

With regards to the NYS Open Data portal, we will update the stations file on Wednesday; I'll need to get back to you regarding the entrances file.

Dillon Shen-Cruz (he/him) 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

Product Manager, Data and APIs

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From: mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Steven Romalewski <sr...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 1, 2025 13:29
To: mtadeveloperresources <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [MTAdev] Re: [MTA] Preview files for the F/M Swap

 

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[Steven Romalewski]

Thanks Dillon.  I see that the subway station data has been updated as of today (12/5/2025) https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-Stations/39hk-dx4f/about_data but the Open Data page does not explicitly say that the file has been updated to reflect the change in F and M lines.  Can you confirm that the 12/5 data reflects these changes?

Do you have a better sense of when the station entrance/exit data will be updated, as well?

Thanks,

Steve

[Shen-Cruz, Dillon]

Thanks Steve. The stations dataset will reflect the F/M Swap by tomorrow, and the entrances/exit dataset should reflect the F/M Swap soon (probably by tomorrow as well). Thank you for your patience!

Dillon Shen-Cruz (he/him) 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

Product Manager, Data and APIs

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From: mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Steven Romalewski <sr...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Friday, December 5, 2025 11:40
To: mtadeveloperresources <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [MTAdev] Re: [MTA] Preview files for the F/M Swap

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mtadeveloperresources/a57127ce-5a51-47a3-b2ee-a9fab2a825bdn%40googlegroups.com.

[Dan Jabbour]

Any chance the new entrances/exit dataset can include ADA information? It’s been missing since 2023.

-Dan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mtadeveloperresources/DM6PR09MB4824F37A52CBAE4F0194278EE3A7A%40DM6PR09MB4824.namprd09.prod.outlook.com.

[Steven Romalewski]

Thanks Dillon.  I see that the station and entrance files have been updated; thanks!

I was looking closely at the stations and comparing with MTA's explainer about the swap (at https://www.mta.info/article/f-m-swap).  In the graphic that MTA provides of the new subway diagram, it shows that the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave station in Queens has the E, F, M, and R lines stopping there; see screenshot below.  But the new station file only shows the M and R as daytime routes for this station.  Is one correct and not the other? Or maybe they're both correct, in that the station data only reflects daytime routes but maybe the subway diagram isn't limited to daytime routes?

Thank you,

Steve

[Shen-Cruz, Dillon]

Hi Steve, which stations file are you referring to? The NYS Open Data file called MTA Subway Stations lists "E F M R" as the daytime routes for Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave (G14 is the GTFS Stop ID).

Dillon Shen-Cruz (he/him) 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

Product Manager, Data and APIs

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From: mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Steven Romalewski <sr...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, December 7, 2025 12:31

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[Steven Romalewski]

Thanks Dillon.  I must have been looking at the wrong stop, because I see that you're correct; the file does indeed show E F M R for the daytime routes at Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave.

Btw, I see that there is a new station file at https://data.ny.gov/Transportation/MTA-Subway-Stations/39hk-dx4f/about_data dated Dec. 9.  What updates does this file have compared to the one dated Dec. 8?

Steve

[Shen-Cruz, Dillon]

Glad we could sort out the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave change! The most recent change to that file is that we labeled Borough Hall as accessible and Spring St as partially accessible, following the installation of a few elevators.

(Note: that file gets refreshed and marked as “updated” on a daily basis, even if there are no changes to the data itself.)

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From: mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com <mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Steven Romalewski <sr...@hotmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 11:07:57 AM

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