CANCELLED: complete L train shut down

You might have already heard the news: today Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the L train won’t be shutting down in April 2019. Wait, what?

Before you get too excited, the L train will still be running and it will still be under construction. Instead of shutting down the entire subway line for 15 months, the L will endue a partial shutdown, leaving one tube open for service. (Why, we can’t imagine the subway getting unbearable congested at all).

As revealed by doNYC, “Cuomo’s focus is on a differently designed and innovative repair that has been successful in Europe but has yet to be tested out here in the US… it’s still very unclear what alternatives the MTA will be choosing, whether it’s working on nights and weekends, extending the plans, or whatever else.”

A full, definitive plan of action has not been revealed (other than some details and slides in the press conference).

However we can expect L trains to run on nights and weekends. Gothamist reported:

The MTA’s acting chair, Fernando Ferrer, tells reporters that on Cuomo’s new timeline, repairs are supposed to last 15 to 20 months. Trains will run with “15-20 minute headways on nights and weekends,” which Ferrer says is the same as regular night service.

“No L-pocalypse,” Ferrer said.

This was an interesting turn of events. And why? We’re all for better subway service, but we can’t help but feel there’s a hidden agenda buried somewhere here…

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