Overnight maintenance work will shut down A/C/E lines this week

Overnight subway maintenance along the Eighth Avenue lines will disrupt service for tens of thousands of straphangers traveling between Manhattan and Brooklyn this week.

A/C/E trains will not run between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. from 59th Street-Columbus Circle and Jay Street-Metrotech, beginning Monday night.

The MTA says completely shutting down service for maintenance means its workers are able to accomplish more tasks more quickly and safely than if they had to get off the train track each time a subway passed by. The cash-strapped transit agency also says it has saved at least $5 million so far this year under the maintenance program, called "Fastrack."

The next "Fastrack" work will be on the B/D/F/M lines the week of July 23.

The agency also is planning to begin similar shutdowns for maintenance work outside Manhattan next year.