Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
‘Open gangway’ subway trains debut on Brooklyn’s G line: ‘It’s refreshing’
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 4, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ramsey Khalifeh / Gothamist
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 4, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The MTA rolled out its first “open gangway” subway train on the G line Tuesday, with more expected to enter service in the coming months, according to the transit agency.
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said at a news conference that the trains — which lack doors between cars, allowing riders to walk the trains' full length — offer a “unique” and roomier ride for commuters.
“Everyone that’s taken the G train knows the experience of hustling down the platform to make that train,” Crichlow said, referring to the line’s traditionally shorter trains. “You get to the last car of the train and then the train is just a little bit crowded. No more.”
Trains on the G line, which are only five cars long instead of the typical length of eight to 10 cars, are shorter than regular subway trains because of lower-than-average ridership compared to other lines. This often means riders have to walk to the middle of the platform to board the train. Approximately 166,000 people ride the G line each weekday.
The MTA said the new train cars are more reliable and accessible. The new R211T model features wider doors, brighter lighting and digital screens that clearly display the train's stops and transfers.
Riders on the first open gangway train Tuesday morning said that while they enjoyed riding the more modern trains, they felt somewhat nostalgic for the older ones.
“We all got to get accustomed to new things and that’s how things change,” said Edwin Montez, 23, who rides the G train daily. He said he will miss the older models' yellow and orange “conversational” seats.
New trains are just the latest recent update to the G line, which is the only subway line that doesn’t enter Manhattan. Last summer, the MTA closed entire segments of the line to install a new signal system known as communications-based train control.
Resident Liz Longo commutes on the G train on March 4, 2025.
Ramsey Khalifeh / Gothamist
MTA officials said the technology, which operates on the L and 7 lines, will not go live until 2027. But during the closures, the transit agency upgraded and cleaned 10 train stations along the G line, including new wall tiles, repainted columns and LED lamps.
A second open gangway train will enter G line service on Wednesday, and two more cars are scheduled to run on the line in the next two months, according to officials. The MTA ordered 80 more open gangway cars as part of a $1.3 billion order of 435 new cars.
Liz Longo, 63, said on Tuesday that she had seen the G train evolve over the years, and welcomed the upgrades.
“It’s refreshing seeing people all the way through,” she said. “It’s fun.”
Tagged
new york city
transportation
brooklyn
g train
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .