MTA subway signal upgrade could suspend Brooklyn G train service this summer
Some Brooklynites may have to take the bus this summer as the MTA shuts down portions of the G train to upgrade its track signals.
The Crosstown Line is among the next set of subways slated to switch to communication-based train control, a computerized signal system that will allow more frequent service by letting trains run closer together.
The dates are not final, but the transit agency is currently proposing to shut the line down in three phases over the summer.
From June 28 through July 5, G train service would be suspended between Court Square in Long Island City, Queens and the Greenpoint Ave. station in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The outage would then be extended further south, from Court Square all the way to the Bedford-Nostrand station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn from July 5 until Aug. 12.
After work on the northern stretch of the line is finished, service would be suspended in central Brooklyn between Bedford-Nostrand and the Hoyt-Schemerhorn station in Boerum Hill from Aug. 12 through Sept. 2.
An MTA spokesperson said Tuesday that the outage schedule was still a work in progress.
“We look forward to continuing engagement with communities across the G line to ensure CBTC installation is delivered efficiently with as little disruption to service as possible,” Eugene Resnick said in a statement.
The MTA plans to complete the modernization of the entire G line by Sept. 2027 at a price tag of $621 million.
The computerized CBTC signaling system, already in place on the L and No. 7 trains, allows the MTA to more accurately locate trains in the system — and, in turn, run trains more quickly and safely.
The system requires upgrades to the tracks and rolling stock.
Work is already underway to install the necessary track equipment along the Eighth Ave. portion of the A,C and E lines, as well as along the Queens Boulevard section of the E, F, M and R trains.
Crews have also begun installing CBTC transceivers along the F train’s Culver Line in southern Brooklyn.
The MTA recently announced a delay in a $1.3 billion plan to install the modern signaling system along the Fulton St. line of the A and C trains in Brooklyn.
Officials said in November that the delay had been caused by uncertainty surrounding the start of congestion pricing. The tolling system is slated to raise $1 billion a year towards MTA system upgrades and repairs.
