By Jean Brannum | jbrannum@queensledger.com
The G Train officially fully reopened the morning of Sept 3, after a series of partial shutdowns for repairs.
The MTA Interim President Demetrius Crichlow and MTA Construction Development President Jamie Torres-Springer greeted customers at the Metropolitan Ave station to celebrate the reopening. The nine-week project allowed the MTA to add Communications-Based Train Control to improve train service reliability.
“I was so happy this morning, I got into the train station, took the train here and had Pharrell’s “Happy” song in my head with an extra bounce in my step,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler.
Work will continue until 2027, but the critical work is complete. Many signals on the G train route date back to the 1930s. Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, along with other elected officials, said that these changes have been necessary for a while.
“I think this will set a new standard for what the future of the MTA can look like, the future of transit can look like; something that is on time, reliable, fast, and of course, as you heard modern,” Gonzalez said.
In addition to adding Communications-Based Train Control, the MTA also replaced 9,495 tiles in G stations, painted 1,802 columns, and repainted 233,645 square feet of platform, track, and mezzanine ceiling.
Some weekend and overnight outages will occur as work continues from 9:45 pm to 5 am the week of Sept 16.