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G train riders should brace themselves for a summer of pain starting Friday as an MTA construction project will shut down entire segments of the line 24 hours a day through Sept. 3.
Closures are divided into three phases:
- June 28 – July 5: No trains between Courthouse Square and Nassau Avenue.
- July 5-Aug. 12: No trains from Court Square to Bedford-Nostrand.
- Aug. 12-Sept. 3: There are no trains between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue.
The Crosstown Line is used by approximately 160,000 riders each weekday.
The closures will be one of the largest construction-related disruptions to New York transit service in years. Not since the MTA announced the shutdown of L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn — a plan that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo abruptly reversed in 2019 — has transit construction frustrated so many Brooklynites.
“It’s trash,” declared Genevieve Kammel Morris, 40, of Greenpoint. “It’s hard to get through Brooklyn without a G train.”
MTA officials say the shutdown is necessary to make overdue improvements to the G Line. The work will replace 30 miles of track, upgrade signals that rely on 1930s technology, install new cables and replace more more than 12 keys that regularly cause delays.
“These switches are some of the oldest in the system, also dating back to the 30s and 40s, and are frequent pain points,” MTA Chief of Construction Staff Sean Fitzpatrick said during a committee meeting early this week.
While the work is underway, commuters will be offered free buses along the closed segments. MTA officials said they have been working with the city’s Department of Transportation to clear intersections and add truck loading zones to prevent double parking along portions of bus routes. The agency has also partnered with Citi Bike to give anyone in the city a free ride during the shutdown with the code “GTRAIN24.”
But G train riders have good reason to be skeptical about the speed of the MTA’s very slow buses. They have had to use them for months during recent night and weekend closures along the line.
“If I can avoid taking it (the buses), I will,” said Matthew Khan, 19. “I know it’s free, but it’s so much longer, it’s more of a hassle.”
Yumi Munir, 23, was preparing for the shutdown by learning to ride a bike for the first time. She said she plans to bike to work in Manhattan instead of taking buses.
The worry will not end even after this round of work. The MTA expects more G Line closures on nights and weekends in the coming year. But by 2027, officials say they will have upgraded the line’s signals to allow faster and more frequent service on the G. The upgrades could one day allow full-length trains on the line, instead of shortened sets of five cars. forcing riders to run down platforms.
Curious traveler
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Question from Phil, from Long Island
Can’t the MTA just cheat and activate congestion pricing charges?
What Clayton says
The MTA has all the tolling infrastructure for congestion pricing, but says it can’t launch it without final sign-off from three parties: the Federal Highway Administration, the city Department of Transportation and the state Department of Transportation. The agreement allows the MTA to implement a pilot program using tolls from federally funded routes to subsidize mass transit. Hochul’s order to stop surge pricing effectively tells the state DOT to stop signing the form.
“We’re not making plans to go rogue and stage a coup against the state of New York,” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said Wednesday when asked just that question.