A World of Pain On the G Train

Waiting for the shuttle on Union Avenue (via)

The notorious G train has been living up to its reputation for problematic service of late. Since January 15th, the train has not been running on weekends due to work in the stations and on the tracks. G train riders are understandably upset.

"It's frustrating to act like people don't need to take the train on the weekend," says Williamsburg resident Kelly McMahon, who relies on the G to get to her weekend job as a barista in Long Island City.

Weekend service on the Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Line has been suspended since the middle of January, replaced by shuttle buses. Last weekend, some service was to have resumed, between Court Square in Queens and Bergen-Nostrand in Brooklyn, but all work was cancelled due to the snowstorm and the train ran on its regular weekend schedule. According to the MTA, there will be no service for the next two weekends between 71st Avenue and Court Square, and after that regular service will resume.

The line has been shut down for several maintainence projects, according to Gothamist: "a switch replacement at Bedford-Nostrand, asbestos removal at Greenpoint Avenue, fan plant replacement at Jackson Avenue and track maintenance work at various locations."

Kelly McMahon is dissatisfied with the inconsistency of G service. She says that it takes some of her co-workers an hour and a half to get to work when the train isn't running. According to McMahon, the shuttle buses are even worse than the train.

"After work the other day, I waited for forty minutes for a shuttle," she says. "I watched four or five full shuttle buses go past. I ended up taking a regular bus that didn't even drop me off near my house."

According to the MTA's Transit Service Reduction report, regular weekend service on the G will decrease. On Saturdays and Sundays, service frequency will be reduced from eight minutes to ten minutes. However, according to the Straphangers Campaign, the G already comes less often than average. Service will also be discontinued between Court Square and 71st Avenue.

McMahon, for one, is not happy about that information.

"There's no alternative to get from here to there," she said.