G train may be suspended for 6 weeks this summer
Photo by The All-Nite Images on Flickr
The G train could shut down for at least six weeks this summer to allow for signal improvements. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week revealed the next part of its effort to modernize the subway system’s signaling system and replace all of the existing signals with communications-based train control (CBTC), which allows trains to run closer together and increase service frequency. As Greenpointers reported, the proposal calls for three partial shutdowns along the line between June 28 and September 2.
During the proposal presented to elected officials on Friday, the MTA presented three potential shutdowns of the G, which runs between Long Island City and Kensington, between June 28 and September 2. The schedule of shutdowns is still being finalized.
G train service would be suspended from Court Square to Nassau Avenue from June 28 through July 15, from Court Square to Bedford-Nostrand Avenue from July 5 through August 12, and from Bedford-Nostrand Avenue to Hoyt-Schermerhorn August 12 through September 2. There will be shuttle buses available to supplement the suspended train service.
The MTA in December 2022 approved a $368 million contract to install CBTC, which the agency says will improve the reliability and speed of the G line by providing a “more precise picture of where trains are located,” as reported by Greenpointers.
While improved service to the line is a long time coming, North Brooklyn officials and residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the drastic shutdown. Particularly those living in Greenpoint, where the only subway line in the neighborhood is the G.
“The G train is the lifeline for the Greenpoint community — with thousands of people depending on it every day to get to work and to keep local businesses thriving,” City Council Member Lincoln Restler said in a statement to Greenpointers.
“While the planned signal improvements are a vital infrastructure investment, a full shutdown of the G train in Greenpoint for six weeks would cause unnecessary harm and disruption to our community. I’m urging the MTA to act nimbly and find alternative construction approaches.”
The transit agency expects the project to be finished by the end of 2027, and that major service suspensions should cease by 2025.
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