In January, when the MTA announced that the G train would undergo a weeks-long shutdown to implement much-needed signal upgrades, many Greenpoint residents felt equally grateful and frustrated. On the one hand, seeing the MTA prioritize our often neglected line (the only one that runs through our neighborhood) was nice. On the other, a full-scale shutdown was likely to be a significant inconvenience. So Greenpointers endured weeks of overcrowded shuttles and longer commute times for the eventual pay-off of a faster, more reliable G train.
But some local residents say that it feels like service has gotten worse since the shutdown wrapped up in September.
In town halls and messaging around the issue, the MTA was always straightforward that it would take them until 2027 to fully implement communications-based train control on our line. However, that doesn’t alleviate the stress in the interim.
“I try to take the G train from Nassau Ave to Court Sq every morning, between 8:15am-8:45am. Prior to the shutdown, if I missed a train, the next one was at most 5-6 min behind. Now, the next train is anywhere from 9-16 min behind,” local resident Jay told Greenpointers. “And then when we get close to Court Square, there is almost always a delay to arrive in the station because we’re delayed by another train on the platform.”
An MTA spokesperson told Greenpointers that the G train runs an average of 6 to 8 minutes during the morning rush, although others on social media note arrival times that stretch beyond that. However, even with the 8-minute service, some commuters feel that it does not accommodate the reality of how many people are using the train.
“I travel to Manhattan every morning. It’s crazy to think that during rush hour the train comes every 8 minutes. Especially because the G is consistently packed and mostly everyone on has to get off at Court Square,” said another local resident, Annika.
Prior to the summer shutdown, the MTA clarified that they would still need to do some weekend work to complete the project on time, though that work has been happening on more weekends than not.
There was no G train service from Bedford-Nostrand Avenues to Court Square on several recent weeknights (shuttle buses ran instead). Starting on October 4, G trains have been running in two sections over the weekends, which will last through December 2. Trains run between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand and then Bedford-Nostrand to Hoyt-Schermerhorn (to get to stops below Hoyt, take the F from Jay Street-Metro Tech).
More service outages will occur next year, but the MTA said that they will be largely concentrated in the line’s southern section. “This is because much of the heavy construction completed during the summer shutdown addressed poor infrastructure conditions concentrated in the northern section, which is older and had significantly greater state of good repair needs,” an MTA spokesperson shared with Greenpointers.
The MTA stressed to Greenpointers that the shutdown staved off even more weekend pain: “This is a testament to the success of the 24/7 shutdown, which allowed the MTA to reconstruct the Court Square interlocking, install over 530,000 feet of cable, replace 17 switches, and complete over 3,000 feet of special work,” they told Greenpointers. “Had the MTA relied on weekend outages alone, construction would have required 40 + weekends outages posing a far greater inconvenience to Greenpoint residents.”
You can subscribe to the MTA’s newsletter, The Weekender, which shares up-to-date information about service changes every Friday.
I am sick of running for the Gtrain because its short 2 cars – 1 in front and 1 in back. I am sick of trying to make the nightly or weekend curfew of 945pm. If Im out the city or LI or Queens for a show or concert I am not making that 945 G train now I have to spend money on a cab or walk home over the bridge. Buses do NOT work well. Overcrowded and infrequent
All true.
I think that the G train should have been gone to 71st Avenue, because it will make a lot of sense and it’s a great idea for me and those people who ride the G Line .
It’s ridiculous that that g train is short. The G is not a SHUTTLE TRAIN. Coming from court square the train is packed when it reaches Green point. They want to raise the fare but the service sucks.
The service is still horrible. The waiting for the trains to clear at 21st Street is bad enough but the geniuses at MTA then force us to wait until the train across the platform leaves before we can proceed. Our “rush hour” service is actually less frequent than most lines’ weekend service. Abysmal.
Let The MTA help ruin your day. The MTA is a terrorist organization that should be put on a black list!
All of the above comments are true. Sevice is subpar to what it was before they closed down the line “for repairs” over the summer. Trains less frequent, now you’re sitting at Court Square for an arbitrary amount of time (or, you get there and there aren’t any trains there), slow in the tunnel on the TWO stops b/w Greenpoint Ave and Court Square. What the heck is going on??? MTA needs to do “more work” on the southern end, but it’s the NORTHERN end where the service has gone significantly downhill in recent months. What exactly did you fix??? And yes, the short trains are ridiculous, but that seems an easy fix for the MTA completely outside of the “work” they’re doing, but they’re refusing to listen to the people who actually ride this line – add a few freakin’ cars, will ya??? Sheeesh.