I ride the C from Utica into Manhattan three days a week. For the past two weeks, my train rolls into Hoyt-Schermerhorn around 8:15 and just sits there. Lights flicker, doors open, nobody says a word. Then an A train blasts past on the express track and we finally creep out. I get it’s a merge point, but ten minutes of standing at that weird abandoned-looking platform every morning is old. Is this a new schedule thing or did something change after the signal work? Also, why do they never announce it? Half the car starts checking their phones like we all got bad news at once.

CypressHills_C, I’ve only been taking the C for about a month and thought I was doing something wrong. I actually got off at Hoyt once because I thought maybe the train was done and I had to transfer. Then the doors closed right as I stepped onto the platform and I had to wait for the next one. Do you just stay on and ignore it? Is there a reason they don’t say 'we’ll be moving shortly'? Thanks for posting this, I feel less like a total newbie.

DykerNewbie, yeah, stay on unless the conductor says otherwise. CypressHills_C, that Hoyt-Schermerhorn hold is real, especially when the A is running local or backed up. The C gets held because the A has priority on that stretch. Ten minutes is rough though. If I see it’s gonna be a long one, I’ll sometimes bail and take the G to Fulton or catch the A/C at Broadway Junction. At 8:15 though, the G is also a coin flip. Best move: if you’re not in a rush, stay put with a podcast; if you are, check the board before you go down and maybe grab the A at Utica instead.

DykerNewbie, yeah, just stay put. The one time I got off I saw a rat the size of a shoe and still had to wait for the same train. Gowanus_G, I tried the Utica A once and got stuck at Broadway Junction anyway, so now I just treat the Hoyt hold like quiet reading time. The worst part is the AC cuts out right when the train stops, so you’re just sitting in warm tunnel air. New MTA art installation: a dead C train at a platform that looks like a haunted bank vault.