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'Frustrating, but what can you do?': MTA's G train shutdown looming
By
Stephen Nessen
Published May 30, 2024
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MTA New York City Transit / Marc A. Hermann
By
Stephen Nessen
Published May 30, 2024
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The MTA is planning to shut parts of the G train down over the summer. And on Thursday night, the public will have a chance to learn how to get around without full service on the only line that doesn’t run through Manhattan.
Commuters will be able to hear from the MTA about why the shutdown is necessary to make upgrades, ask a question of transit officials – or just give the agency a piece of their mind.
The six week shutdown will be carried out over three phases.
- June 28-July 5: No trains between Court Square and Nassau Avenue.
- July 5-Aug. 12: No trains from Court Square to Bedford-Nostrand.
- Aug. 12-Sept. 3: No trains between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue.
The MTA will run shuttle buses between the stations during those times.
The town hall, which is organized by Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Councilmember Lincoln Restler, will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at John Ericsson Middle School in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. People who wish to view a livestream of the event must register here.
On Wednesday, many commuters at the Fulton Street station in Fort Greene were unaware of the looming hassle.
“I think it's going to be very frustrating, but what can you do?” Tim Meester, 40, said as he exited the station.
“If they could improve the efficiency too, that would be great, because the ‘ghost train’ is always missing,” Meester added, using a nickname for the G, which once had a reputation for leaving riders waiting.
The MTA is planning to upgrade the line, used by 160,000 riders daily, by installing modern signals similar to ones on the L and 7 lines. The “communications-based train control,” or CBTC technology, allows trains to run faster and closer together.
All other train lines run on fixed block signals – a technology that’s been in use since the subways first opened over a century ago.
The MTA reports that it’s breaking the work into three phases because it will be able to get it done more quickly. Still, the agency doesn't expect the modern signals to be up and running until 2027.
Gallagher called the signal upgrades a “very, very welcome investment.” But she said she worried about how people will get around this summer.
“Our town hall is an opportunity for riders to hear directly from the MTA and DOT — and to ask tough questions,” Gallagher wrote in an email. “We need to see a plan that prioritizes the fast, efficient movement of buses on our congested streets or it's going to be a very long summer."
She’d previously urged the MTA to use the planned work as an opportunity to restore G train service to Forest Hills-71st Avenue and run full-size trains on the line. In 2010, the MTA ended G train service at Court Square due to budget cuts.
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Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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