For some regular 7 train riders, the line's service issues have become a running joke.
"It's a little disconcerting when the only subway you can rely on in Queens is a sandwich shop," said Ty Sullivan, a Sunnyside resident.
But all kidding aside, Sullivan says the problems are no laughing matter
"It's signal delays, it's rail delays, it's stuck trains. It gets a little monotonous after a while," said Sullivan.
Sullivan and fellow passengers, including Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer are calling on the MTA to improve service.
Van Bramer recently sent a letter to the MTA asking for a top to bottom review of every component of the 7 line from cleanliness to performance.
"Because there's no question that it would result in improvements to service," said Van Bramer.
But even amid the disruptions and service changes, the Straphangers Campaign has crowned the 7 train the best line in the city, two years in a row
"I think anyone who rides the 7 train has to scratch their heads and wonder how they came up with that. The truth is it's gotten worse, delays almost every single day, serious delays that are really impacting people's lives," said Van Bramer.
An MTA spokesperson tells NY1 the city's transit authority has been making capital improvements on the 7 Train and nearly every element of the line is being improved.
Elevated tracks are being replaced and the Hurricane Sandy damaged Steinway Tunnel that links Queens and Manhattan is being reconstructed.
A new signal system is also being installed that will allow trains to run more frequently. That's expected to be complete by next year.
"We hope it gets done soon. Okay, however, it still remains to be seen that even when it is completed, what effect it will have," said Hayes Peter Mauro, the Media Director for Access Queens, an advocacy group working to improve transportation throughout the borough.
The MTA says the agency is fully committed to conducting reviews of all of the system's lines. For these straphangers, that can't come soon enough.