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Subway trains on the L line covered in filth after MTA car washer breaks down
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Nov 28, 2025
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Stephen Nessen
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Nov 28, 2025
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The subway trains on the L line have been covered in grime for months, and the MTA has no way to clean them.
A crucial car-washing station at the agency’s train yard in Canarsie, Brooklyn, broke down during a summer rainstorm and isn’t expected to be repaired until next year, Gothamist has learned.
While crews can clean the interiors of the L train cars, the exteriors are in abhorrent condition due to the busted cleaning station. Many are covered with dusty handprints and black grime leaks from some windows. The side of one train on the line this week was stained with what appeared to be coffee.
Riders have noticed the filth.
“It's horrible that this is the condition of our public transportation right now,” said L train rider Gabriella Hermalyn, 33. She noted she tries to avoid the line because it’s gotten so gross, and prefers the G train. She said the Crosstown Line “is actually quite nice, especially since they just modernized it, and it's significantly better than the L.”
The dirty state of the subways, which are notorious for soot, rats and litter, means New Yorkers accept that even the MTA’s newest train cars won’t keep their shine for long. But riders were still dismayed by the sheer level of filth that had built up on the L train cars.
“I know it's tough to keep these things clean, but it's like dirtier than they should be,” said commuter Taino Brigs, 39, before boarding an L train caked in so much dust it was hard to see out its windows.
Streaks on some L train cars show just how much dust has collected on the line's rolling stock.
Stephen Nessen
MTA officials acknowledged the problem, but said they had no way to clean the cars until the Canarsie washing station is fixed.
The subway car wash looks similar to ones used by automobiles. Trains are rolled down a track through an area filled with faucets and tall, shaggy brushes that scrub them clean.
Transit officials said they’d have to move trains on the L line about 20 miles to access another washing station, which would cost the agency money and disrupt subway service.
MTA spokesperson Laura Cala-Rauch said the agency hopes to reopen the car washing facility at some point next year.
“As New York City Transit works to repair an exterior train car washer in the Canarsie Yard, it is conserving taxpayer dollars and maintaining service by continuing a rigorous interior cleaning schedule and awaiting the reopening of the exterior wash facility,” Cala-Rauch wrote in a statement.
Commuters like Hermalyn felt they were getting a raw deal. She noted the MTA is raising the subway fare to $3 in January, but isn’t promising she’ll be able to ride a dignified, clean L train.
“It's like garbage condition, the trains,” she said. “And it's funny because every year the price goes up and up, and yet they do nothing.”
Tagged
brooklyn
new york city
sanitation
transportation
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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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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