Following reports of a mysterious gas odor today, the L train is experiencing service disruptions between Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn and 1st Avenue in Manhattan, the MTA says.
Update: There are significant disruptions in L train service while we investigate the source of fuel smells on the tracks near Graham Av. Our safety checks have found that the air is currently safe, but we need to correct and resolve the condition before restoring service. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/VLtYSTKwGF
Service has been partially suspended on the L train since early afternoon due to the fumes, which are attributed by the MTA to street-level waterproofing and diesel trains in the Canarsie tunnel last night.
Good morning. We apologize for the smell. Street-level waterproofing work was done at Bedford Av yesterday and several diesel trains were in the tunnel last night working on tracks and switches. Fans are running to clear the air, and our crews are continuing to investigate. ^BD
Governor ‘Amazon’ Cuomo will take a break from striking backroom deals with monopolistic billionaires and make a surprise announcement during a press conference today at 12:45 p.m. in Manhattan regarding the L train shutdown, Gothamist reports. Just two weeks ago Cuomo submerged himself into the Canarsie Tunnel that runs between Manhattan and Brooklyn to take a hard look at the reconstruction plan with a team of experts. As of now, the plan (four years in the making) is to shut down the tunnel to train traffic for 15 months begging at the end of April 2019.
A potential switch may be a three-year shutdown with one track remaining in operation, Gothamist reports:
MTA sources told Gothamist that they have heard rumors that the governor was planning on altering the L train shutdown. “We usually have provisions that allow us to get out of contracts at any given time, but there’s been a fair amount of work done already,” one source said. “If there’s a new plan only the very upper management knows what that is.”
Another source in contact with city decision makers said the governor may switch from the 1.5 year total shutdown timeline to one that would last 3+ years by partially shutting down one track.
Update: The NY Times reports that a full Canarsie Tunnel shutdown will not happen. Specific details are still to be announced.
Brooklynites, rejoice! Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to cancel the full shutdown of the L train between Brooklyn and Manhattan. https://t.co/7VzrGhzEzA
Corporate America’s valiant Governor, ‘Amazon’ Cuomo, tried his hardest last night to fix the Canarsie Tunnel during a 1.5 hour midnight visit with a team of “national and international experts,” but in the end, no miracles were made and the tunnel will close as scheduled for an estimated 15 months of repairs starting in April 2019.
Cuomo did bless us with a photo shoot providing images of the subterranean finger pointing and deep reflection we all wanted.
Amazon Cuomo held a press conference following the tunnel tour in which he revealed nothing new while name-dropping his photo-op team of global experts from Cornell, Columbia University, and the MTA. Watch the press conference here:
Governor ‘Amazon’ Cuomo is set to tour the L train’s Canarsie tunnel on Thursday night ahead of the subway line’s 15-month shutdown between Manhattan and Brooklyn that is scheduled to start in April 2019.
While not exactly an eleventh-hour visit (pun intended), Cuomo will descend into the hurricane-ravaged tunnel flanked by ‘national and international experts’ for a photo-op around midnight.
This means some late night schedule changes on the L train tonight: the overnight schedule will begin at 12 a.m. instead of 1:30 a.m., when trains will run every 20 minutes. Regular service will resume at 1:30 a.m.
Amazon Cuomo called into WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” on Monday to dish on an array of issues facing the Empire State, including the impending L train shutdown. Read Cuomo’s meandering take on his L train visit:
“I am this week going to take a look myself at the L train. And as a project to close the tunnel that carries the L train, it would be highly disruptive for many people, of course. You want to make sure the tunnel is safe, and the train is safe. But this Thursday night, midnight, I’m gonna take a tour to make sure we are doing everything we can and explore every option to reduce any possible disruption.
I did the same thing with the 2nd Avenue subway to make sure that the bureaucracy is being flexible and open and creative. Because these are vital services; you close down the L train, they’re talking about 15 months, it creates a major problem.
The city’s worked very hard, the MTA has worked hard to come up with alternatives. But the functionality of this agency is key, and when it becomes a major situation that I can get involved in directly, like the 2nd Avenue subway…But the MTA day-to-day having the funding, to buy new trains, put in that new signal system, do the construction on time, that is vital. Remebering that the whole system is, has been neglected for decades, it’s a 100 year old system, and the volume is multiple times what it was designed to handle.”
As we reported earlier this week, the MTA has taken a glacial approach to coming up with an alternative transit plan for commuters who will be affected when L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn shuts down for 15 months beginning in April 2019. But, lo and behold! It’s here! The MTA’s transit plan.
Bike traffic is expected to double, so 13th will feature Manhattan’s first two-way protected crosstown bike lane.
There will be new pedestrian space around Union Square, and bike parking on University Place
Delancey Street will get a protected bike link to the Williamsburg Bridge.
But, the MTA estimates that 80% of the 225,000 riders who take the L between Manhattan and Brooklyn every day will seek alternate subway routes, and thereby turn to the G and J/M/Z trains (oy!).
Commuters can expect increased service on those lines, as well as higher capacity G and C trains.
There will also be free MetroCard transfers between the Broadway G and the Lorimer and Hewes JMZ trains.
Free transfers will also be available between the 3 train at Junius St. and the L at Livonia Avenue.
On the weekend, and overnight, the M will run to 96th Street/2nd Avenue.
Read on for information about new ferry services and street improvements! Continue reading →
