G (New York City Subway service)

Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local
Northern end	Court Square
Southern end	Church Avenue
Stations	21

The G Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is the only full-time non-shuttle service that does not enter Manhattan. It is colored light green on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs on the IND Crosstown Line.

The G operates between Court Square in Long Island City, Queens and Church Avenue in Kensington, Brooklyn, at all times. It only serves two stations in Queens (Court Square and 21st Street).

History

The original Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local service began on August 19, 1933 as a shuttle between Queens Plaza on the IND Queens Boulevard Line and Nassau Avenue using the designation GG. The entire IND Crosstown Line was completed on July 1, 1937, including the connection to the IND Culver Line. GG service ran at all times between Forest Hills – 71st Avenue and Church Avenue. Soon after, it was cut back to Smith-9th Streets.

In July 1968, service was again extended to Church Avenue and the F train operated as an express on the IND Culver Line. This service pattern ended in August 1976 because many customers at local stations on the Culver Line wanted direct access to Manhattan and the G was cut back to Smith - Ninth Streets.

In 1985, use of double letters to indicate local service was discontinued, so the GG was relabeled G.

Queens-bound G train of R68s at Seventh Avenue.

On May 24, 1987, the N and R services switched terminals in Queens. As part of the reroute plan, Queens Plaza became the northern terminal for the G train on evenings, nights, and weekends.

Beginning on September 30, 1990, G service was extended to 179th Street during late nights to replace the F, which terminated at 21st Street – Queensbridge.

In May 1997, due to construction on the connector between the IND 63rd Street Line and the Queens Boulevard Line, G trains terminated at Court Square on evenings, nights, and weekends.

On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Connector opened and Court Square became the northern terminal for the G train during midday and rush hours. Service along the IND Queens Boulevard Line was replaced by the new V train. G service was extended to Forest Hills – 71st Avenue other times.

On July 5, 2009, the G was once again extended south at all times to Church Avenue. This was required for overhaul of the Culver Viaduct.

Due to the MTA financial crisis, the G was to be cut back from Forest Hills – 71st Avenue to Court Square at all times beginning June 27, 2010.^[1] However, due to planned track repairs during the times the G normally ran on the Queens Boulevard Line, it ceased running north of Court Square on April 19.^[2][3]

Expansion of Queens Boulevard Service and G Cutback Controversy

When the connector to the IND 63rd Street Line from the IND Queens Boulevard Line was completed in December 2001, it not only introduced the new V service, but allowed up to nine additional trains on the Queens Boulevard Line during peak hours.^[4] However, to make room for the V train on Queens Boulevard, the G had to terminate at Court Square on weekdays.

The service plan was designed to redistribute Queens-bound passenger loads in the heavily-used IND Queens Boulevard Line (under 53rd Street in Manhattan) and better service and transfer opportunities as the V allowed direct access to 53rd Street and the IND Sixth Avenue Line for Queens Boulevard local customers. The New York Times described the service plan as "complex and heavily criticized;" several years experience with the service running, however, has shown its value. V trains, while by no means consistently full, have taken some load off the F train, which was rerouted via 63rd Street, though many riders complained that the passenger load on the E has worsened as it is now the only express train that runs along 53rd Street. This is, in part, due to riders' propensity to board an express even in situations where it offers no real advantage in travel time over the local. In response to complaints from G riders at public hearings about losing a major transfer point to Manhattan-bound trains at Queens Plaza, the MTA agreed to a number of compromises, including installing a moving sidewalk in the passageway between Court Square and 23rd Street – Ely Avenue (E M) on the Queens Boulevard Line. In addition, a free out-of-system MetroCard transfer to 45th Road – Court House Square on the IRT Flushing Line was created at those two stations—one of only two such transfers in the system. This special transfer was discontinued when construction of an in-system transfer at the corner of 23rd Street and 45th Road opened on June 5, 2011, which made both stations ADA-accessible.

The MTA also agreed to extend the G to Forest Hills – 71st Avenue during evenings and weekends (when the V was not running), and run more trains on that route. There was a two hour period where the G, R, and V were all supposedly running at once since the V stopped running at 10:00 p.m. and the G was extended to 71st Avenue at 8:00. The authority "had spent several hundred thousand dollars on tests, trying to figure out a way to keep the G train running past Court Square and farther into Queens on weekdays, but because of the addition of the V train, which shared space along the Queens Boulevard lines with the trains already there, the E, F, G, and R trains could not fit during the daytime, when service is heaviest."^[5]

To increase service and reduce waiting time, the G would need more trains, but there were not enough cars, so the solution was to reduce the length of trains from six cars to four, sticking all the leftover cars together to make the extra trains. This, however, meant there would be more riders packed into smaller trains. Some passengers also missed trains because they were standing at the wrong part of the platform as the trains are only about half their length, although there are signs indicated where the train stops at some stations such as the 4 and 6 markers on the tracks.

A community group, Save the G!, has regularly lobbied the MTA for more G train service since the original cutbacks when the V was introduced in 2001. They made the restoration of service to the Queens Boulevard Line at all times an issue in the 2002 New York gubernatorial race, but the transit authority said, "Unfortunately, putting the G back to full service is just not an option, given our track capacity—and that's not likely to change."^[6]

They have also lobbied for the creation of another free out-of-system transfer between Broadway and Hewes Street on the BMT Jamaica Line, which is only two blocks away. However, the MTA said, "We have no intention of making that a permanent free transfer."^[7]

Most stations along the IND Crosstown Line were built with multiple exits to the street. Over the years, many lower-use exits were closed (as they were in other parts of the subway), as the city was concerned that they were a magnet for criminals and there was insufficient traffic to justify staffing them full-time, but in July 2005, in response to community pressure, the MTA agreed to re-open the South Portland Avenue exit of Fulton Street. The New York Times described it as a "minor victory" for "a maligned line."^[8] This minor win is truly minor as one must still use the underpass at Fulton St in order to exit one the other side nearby Brooklyn Technical High School.

Due to construction on the Queens Boulevard Line, the G train frequently terminated at Court Square even at times when the published timetable says it runs to 71st Avenue. Some riders were suspicious that the service disruptions were "simply a de facto way to implement the original plan of halving G train service." The original plans called for the G terminate at Court Square at all times. The plan was shelved in 2001 in face of community opposition, but implemented in 2010.^[9] An MTA spokesman says that "It's not personal…. If you want to keep the system up to date, you need to make sure the track and switching are all in good repair."^[10]

Route

Service Pattern

The following table shows the lines used by the G service:

Line	From	To	Tracks
IND Crosstown Line	Court Square	Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets	all
IND Culver Line	Bergen Street	Church Avenue	local

Stations

For a more detailed station listing, see the articles on the lines listed above.

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	Station closed
Time period details

	Stations		Subway transfers	Connections
Queens
	Court Square		E  M  (IND Queens Boulevard Line at Court Square – 23rd Street) 7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line)
	21st Street
Brooklyn
	Greenpoint Avenue
	Nassau Avenue
	Metropolitan Avenue		L  (BMT Canarsie Line at Lorimer Street)
	Broadway
	Flushing Avenue
	Myrtle–Willoughby Avenues
	Bedford–Nostrand Avenues
	Classon Avenue
	Clinton–Washington Avenues
	Fulton Street
	Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets		A  C  (IND Fulton Street Line)
	Bergen Street		F
	Carroll Street		F
	Smith–Ninth Streets			Closed for rehabilitation until March 2012[11]
	Fourth Avenue		F  D  N  R  (BMT Fourth Avenue Line at Ninth Street)
	Seventh Avenue		F
	15th Street – Prospect Park		F	All Church Avenue-bound trains skip this station due to reconstruction.
	Fort Hamilton Parkway		F	All Church Avenue-bound trains skip this station due to reconstruction.
	Church Avenue		F

References

1. ^ "Service Change Details". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 18, 2008. http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=24. Retrieved July 10, 2010. 
2. ^ Haddon, Heather (April 13, 2010). "G train taking a hit before service cuts roll out". AM New York. http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/g-train-taking-a-hit-before-service-cuts-roll-out-1.1860885. Retrieved 2010-04-16. 
3. ^ "NYCT Service Advisory". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://travel.mtanyct.info/serviceadvisory/routeStatusResult.aspx?tag=G&date=4/19/2010&time=&method=getstatus. Retrieved 2010-04-19. 
4. ^ Kershaw, Sarah (December 2, 2000). "Proposed Line Would Lighten Subway Crush". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/02/nyregion/proposed-line-would-lighten-subway-crush.html. Retrieved 2010-03-20. 
5. ^ Kennedy, Randy (May 25, 2001). "Panel Approves New V Train but Shortens G Line to Make Room". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/25/nyregion/panel-approves-new-v-train-but-shortens-g-line-to-make-room.html. Retrieved 2010-03-20. 
6. ^ Hays, Elizabeth (October 24, 2002). "Riders Rail at G Switch". Daily News (New York). http://www.savetheg.org/documents/dailynews_102402.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
7. ^ Miller, Shane (July 1, 2004). "Let Us Take a Free Swipe". Greenpoint Star. http://www.savetheg.org/documents/greenpointstar_070104.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
8. ^ Mooney, Jake (July 3, 2005). "For a Maligned Line, a Minor Victory". The New York Times. http://www.savetheg.org/documents/nytimes_070305.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
9. ^ Kadushin, Peter (January 15, 2008). "G Train May Give Brooklyn Riders Faster Service, Queens Riders More Legwork". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2008/01/16/2008-01-16_g_train_may_give_brooklyn_riders_faster_.html. Retrieved 2010-03-20. 
10. ^ Ilel, Neille (July 21, 2005). "'G' is For Gone–G Train Loses Nearly Half its Weekend Stops". Queens Chronicle. http://www.savetheg.org/documents/queenschronicle_072105.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
11. ^ Redwine, Tina (June 20, 2011). "F, G Subway Station Closure Met With Frustration". NY1. http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/141296/f--g-subway-station-closure-met-with-frustration. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 

External links

• MTA NYC Transit – G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local
• MTA NYC Transit – G train timetablePDF – Effective June 26, 2011