Queens and Brooklyn residents should expect another round of major service disruptions on the G train this summer — but the reason will pay off in the long run, the MTA said on Friday.
Service on the G, which connects the two boroughs without entering Manhattan, will not be available between Court Square in Queens and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues in Brooklyn on select weeknights and weekends from July 14 to Aug. 18.
The reason for the disruption on the crosstown line, the MTA said, is to upgrade the line’s aging signal system to provide “more reliable service” to the 160,000 people who use the G every day.
“The train’s signal system dates back to the 1930s and is now being modernized with state-of-the-art Communications-based Train Control (CBTC), which will bring more reliable service,” the MTA said in a press release.
Dates and times of G train service disruptions
Overnight suspensions will run from 9:45 p.m. to 5 a.m.: July 14 to July 18; July 24 to July 25; Aug. 4 to Aug. 8; and Aug. 11 to Aug. 15.
Weekend suspensions will run 9:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday: July 25 to July 28; Aug. 1 to Aug. 4; Aug. 8 to Aug. 11; and Aug. 15 to Aug. 18.
The agency said free shuttle bus service will run and stop at all G stations where service is suspended.
A nearly century-old subway system is undergoing a makeover
A $368 million contract for the CBTC work was awarded in 2022, and the overhaul first began last summer, which, like this year, required service disruptions.
The work, which is expected to continue into 2027, will replace Depression-era analog signals with the newer, wireless CBTC system. According to the MTA, the older signal system has led to frequent service disruptions and delays along the G.
But the agency said even more work was done along the G, known for its short train of railcars, during last year’s outages. Workers were able to make other critical station upgrades, repairs and deep cleanings to 10 stations along the route while the train was out of service.
The G treatments included scraping, priming, and painting platform, track, and mezzanine ceiling space and replacing over 9,000 tiles. More than 1,802 station columns were scraped, primed, and painted, and more LED lamps were added.
Meanwhile, modern signalizing is one of a handful of major makeovers the MTA gave the G train recently. On March 4, the agency debuted its open gangway train on the G, marking yet another milestone in the modernization of the city’s subway system.
In open-gangway trains, passengers can freely, safely and legally walk through railcars. Agency officials have said the open gangway style also provides more space inside trains.
More information about G train service disruptions
More information about upcoming G train service outages is available at mta.info, agency apps and by phone at 511.
