Split R train could speed service: pols

Pols representing Bay Ridge have a Solomonic idea to fix the R train: split it in two.

The R ran better when the MTA stopped running it into Manhattan from 2013 to 2014, when crew repaired damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in the Montague Street tunnel, says a group of officials led by freshman congressman Max Rose.

“By bifurcating the Rtrain, Bay Ridge commuters were no longer being delayed due to a sick passenger up in Queens,” the letter said.

Rose and other elected officials urged Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials to try splitting the train in two again — this time permanently.

“It's time for us to think outside the box,” the letter said.

The solution, backed by Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus (D-Brooklyn), would force the roughly 60,000 riders who use the tunnel every day to change their commutes.

“Considering that this was put in place before — and it was an unexpected success — we expect the MTA to move quickly to re-implement this program permanently if it was determined to be a possible long-term solution,” the letter said.

Brannan said the idea came from commuters who rode the R line during the Sandy repairs.

They said they liked their commute better when the train dropped them off in downtown Brooklyn .

MTA data backs up straphangers' opinion.