Service changes for the real L train “shutdown” won’t kick in until later this month, but weeknight riders should prepare for major outages over the next two weeks.
The MTA is suspending weeknight service between Lorimer Street in Brooklyn and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan through April 26 as it gears up for the L train rehabilitation project. L trains will continue to run between Lorimer Street and Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway.
Beginning Monday, trains will stop running at 10:30 p.m. and will resume service at 5 a.m. the following day. The overnight outages will pause for the weekend and then pick back up for another five days on Monday, April 22.
Riders who need to get between Manhattan and Brooklyn during those times can take the A, F or J trains. The MTA also set up a free shuttle bus that will make stops at the Lorimer Street, Bedford Avenue, Marcy Avenue and Hewes Street stations. Folks looking to get across town in Manhattan can hop on the M14 bus.
The service suspension is necessary so that crews can install the proper signal equipment needed to operate trains on a one-track system when the rehabilitation project kicks off on April 27.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in January that the long-planned full L train shutdown was no longer needed, citing new technology that would allow the MTA to complete the project during overnights and weekends, sparing peak weekday commuters.
The Canarsie Tunnel’s tracks, signals and other critical subway equipment were badly damaged by 7 million gallons of salt water that flooded the tubes in 2012 during superstorm Sandy.
The revised repair plan, which allows crews to work on one tube while the other provides limited subway service in both directions, is expected to take between 15 and 20 months to complete.
