April 3, 2013. NY, NY. Features. Brett Moses and Nick LaGrasta (guitar) penned award winning song about the G Train. NY, NY. Photo By Zandy Mangold. (Zandy Mangold)
Say goodbye to the G train shuffle!
Long-suffering riders in Brooklyn and Queens will get some relief from dashing down platforms to get into the subway line’s short four-train car.
The MTA plans to put up signs by the end of this year that will show straphangers where the G train will arrive– and will rearrange benches so that they line up with its cars after a study conducted by the agency.
“The G train sprint is going to end,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron, who had asked the MTA to review the subway line.
Lawyer Alexis Saba, 29, of Clinton Hill was relieved to hear this– and said she almost lost a shoe on the subway tracks once while running towards the subway car doors.
“It will make it a lot easier to plan,” said Saba, who is a member of the organization Rider’s Alliance and lives off of the Clinton-Washington Avenue stop.
The line’s 125,000 commuters– who live in rapidly-growing neighborhoods like Greenpoint and Williamsburg– will also see service increased by 25 percent in afternoons and evenings by mid-2014 if the agency can secure the funding.
Wait times are expected to drop from an average of ten minutes to eight minutes. There will also be public service announcements about service changes at 12 G train stations that don’t have them now.
The MTA is also revising the subway’s timetables to make the G run more evenly– rather than having trains arrivals bunched together, creating long waits for riders.
Tolana Abedoye, a 36-year-old data manager for the Department of Education and also a member of the Rider’s Alliance, was thrilled that there would be more trains at night and greater service overall.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” said Abedoye. “I take the G train everyday to work. The worst part is going home in the evening. It’s going to be a big deal for me personally.”
An MTA spokesman said it would cost $700,000 to increase the number of G trains, and the agency is seeking budget funding to boost service.