Overnight and weekend L train closures will last through March

Beginning on Monday, the MTA is planning a series of overnight and weekend interruptions of L train service that will give commuters a glimpse at what’s to come when Governor Cuomo’s new one-track plan to fix the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel kicks in at the end of April. From January 28 and through March 18, L trains will not run between Broadway Junction and 8 Avenue weeknights from 10:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. In addition to the weeknight closures, there will be no L-train service on seven weekends in February and March: Feb. 1-4, Feb. 8–11, Feb. 15–19, Feb. 22–25, March 1–4, March 8–11, and March 15–18.

The changes are part of maintenance work that was announced in October to prepare for the L train shutdown, though the MTA announced on January 18 that it is forging ahead with a new plan that will not require a full closure of the L for 15 months. The disruptions scheduled for the coming weeks are to prepare the system to run on one track instead of two beginning in April.

“As part of the revised L project, we’re still moving forward on the long-term reliability improvement work we had originally planned. This includes installing brand new rail in the tunnel and along other critical sections of the L line, and preparing key switches and signals. For you, this means our track will be safer and trains will run faster and smoother, and that we’ll have the right signals to run the one-track operation come April,” the agency said in a press release issued on Friday. “This work requires full track access because of how the track installation and signal work is implemented.”

There will be two shuttle bus routes available to supplement the L during the planned overnight work, in addition to an increase of M14 service in Manhattan. One shuttle route will run between the Broadway Junction and Lorimer Street stations, making stops at each station along the way and connecting to the J and M trains at Marcy Avenue. A second route will run in a loop connecting the L’s Bedford Avenue and Lorimer Street stations to the nearby J/M’s Marcy Avenue and Hewes Street stations, as well as the G line’s Broadway station.

Three shuttle bus routes will be available during the weekend closures. One will shuttle riders between Broadway Junction and the M train at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue station, the second will run between Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue and the Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Avenue G station, and the third will stop at the Marcy Avenue and Hewes Street J and M stations, the Broadway and Lorimer Street-Metropolitan Avenue G stations, and the Bedford Avenue L station.

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