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L train riders, your patience, as well as personal space, will be tested for at least another three years. The NY Times reports that an additional 64 train cars that would take advantage of the "high-tech signal system" the MTA spent so much time installing won't be on tracks before January 2010. Which means that you'll have to make do with waiting for now!
Currently, rush hour trains are scheduled to arrive every four minutes (15 trains every hour). The MTA tells the Times that once the new trains are added, trains will arrive every 2 minutes 18 seconds. But for 2007, the MTA will bump up the number of trains to 17 trains an hour - you'll shave your waiting time by 30 seconds. If you can even get on the train that comes in. We found this anecdote depressing and familiar:
“I hate standing on a crowded platform, and I hate the sardine train,” said Traci Tullius, 30, a Williamsburg resident who commutes to work at Yeshiva University in Manhattan, where she teaches art.How many trains do you typically wait for an L?Ms. Tullius lives closest to the Graham Avenue stop, but she said that during the morning rush the trains stopping there were so crowded that she has to let several pass before she can board. Instead, she regularly rides her bicycle three stops farther into Brooklyn, to the Morgan Avenue station, which is less heavily used.
“I ride my bike three stops in order to avoid the crunch,” she said. “It’s gross. You have to wait for four trains to go there. It’s insanity.”
Only last year did the MTA admit the L was too crowded. We imagine the MTA will consider improving service to the F and G by 2012 and 2015. And be look out for the report cards where riders get to grade the subways and buses.
Photograph by isaiahlt on Flickr; we like to think the "pray" was added as a cry for better service
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Isn't the problem with all of this the 8th ave stop? You can run assloads of trains into manhattan but you end up sitting there at 1st/3rd/union/6th for like 5 minutes waiting for the 8th ave stopped trains to clear out.
I swear the train dispatchers drink on the job. During rush hour you will that they don't keep up with the 8th ave trains. TWO trains will sit there until another shows up at 6th ave and all of sudden, "Oops! gotta get these trains out of 8th ave!" If only they kept better tabs on where trains were the backup wouldn't be so bad.
I live off of the Lorimer stop and regularly have to wait for 5 trains to go by. Doesn't matter if I go to work early or go to work late... always the same crowded insanity.
wells good for me when i gets my grope on in the morning hour body crush with the young lasses
I get on at Lorimer everyday at about 8:30am and worst case scenario is 2 trains pass but thats rare. I thin Ms. Tullius is exaggerating a bit.
Used to have to wait for several trains but now I act like a real New Yorker and just push my way on. Strollers Schmollers.
Simple solution for the subway riders is to move to Manhattan. As for poor hipsters who can't afford to do so, just ride your fixed gear bikes across the bridge or stay your ass in Billyburg!
I'm also off the Lorimer stop. Sometimes you can wait for 4 or 5 trains before you can squeeze on one - then sometimes you'll get on the first that arrives and it's nice and spacey. I've been trying to figure out the pattern but I don't there there is one.
I was waiting to see how long it would take for a "hipster" comment to rear its ugly head. yep, all those Canarsie hipsters should really just stay there.
Just another example of why we need a complete overhaul of the MTA leadership.
You always see people complaining about the L service on here, but what about the N/W? As Astoria becomes more and more popular it is quickly becoming a similar situation. I typically have to wait for 2-3 trains before being able to board and it seems there is a daily track fire or breakdown. Not to mention it's consistently the lowest rated line in the system.
Freakin Hipster scum and their gay ass L Train.
'OMG Delays!, This is totally killing my buzz right now. I can't wait to get to Starbucks and order my Cafe Latte,
Re: hipsters
Have you seen the new loft/condo construction? Hipsters most certainly will not be living there. Once all of the bankers have moved in, the L will be running quite smoothly. The MTA can't ignore the complaints of the upper crust.
The over-crowding is hardly the MTA's fault. The train line was not designed for a gigantic population of Manhattan commuters. Most of the middle-class, home-owning Williamsburg/Greenpoint natives I know (including myself) who live on the first three or four stops commute by car, not subway.
The MTA can hardly be blamed for not foreseeing and not catching up fast enough to accommodate the hipster population.
she should ride her bike toward her destination not away from it.
I used to be courteous and wait, but now I behave like everyone else and just push my way in. A couple elbows and low shoulders works great.
Sorry to anyone on the receiving end, but it is NY after all.
i live at the graham stop and rarely have a problem getting on the 1st train that comes by. occasionally i'll have no choice but to let one pass, maybe once every 2-3 weeks. i think the difference is i head to work a little bit before the big rush. if i get to the stop after 8:20 or so i'm pretty screwed, so i just make it a point to get there before then. that said, you'd be surprised how packed the train is at 6:15 in the morning when there are fewer running and the early morning rush is on.
I second janelle. I used to live off of the Montrose stop and maybe once every month I had to wait for a single train.
Something that I found to alleviate the situation was to leave 5 minutes ahead of the exact time that would get me to my job. Most people decide to leave to arrive exactly on time, so if you avoid leaving so you'll arrive AT 8:30, AT 9:00 and AT 9:30, you'll find much less people who are doing the same thing. Trains were usually half as busy if I traveled to arrive just 5-10 minutes ahead of a common time people start their work at.
Stupid question: The new signaling systems appear to permit the L to run at almost *double* capacity given that enough trains are available to do so.
If they did the same thing to the Lex Ave Line, would it be a viable alternative to the 2nd ave subway?
Granted, it does nothing to add coverage to that last bit of downtown that has no subway coverage, but from what I hear, those bits might not get built anyway.
I also live at the Lorimer stop. For me, its not that I can't fit on the train, its that I have to wait 10-15 minutes for the thing to even come. Last Wednesday was the worst, a 22 minute wait at 6:30am. Did anyone else see the "15 trains per hour" as suspect?
how about restoring the G train to its former "glory?" god forbid they would replace the cars and run regularly to alleviate the L crunch.
As for the luxury condos, everybody knows they're going to be filled with coke-addled trust fund hipsters.
As for the L, I get on at Lorimer around 7:40-7:50 and it sucks sometimes, but other times it's fine. It's a total crap shoot, really. There have been times when I've waited for 45 minutes to watch *only* four super-packed trains stop and leave. Other times, like today, it will actually stop every two minutes, and it will be downright spacious.
I really do get the impression that these trains are spending too much damn time sitting at 8th Ave. Who the hell are they waiting for at 8th Ave. during the morning rush? The trains shouldn't spend any more time there than they do at any other station.
If they take the R160s being delivered of the N and put them on the L instead it may help. However, do you expect anything the MTA does to make sense?
Yes, the MTA is held responsible for delays. The NYC subway system is the worst in the world and we're considered a wealthy nation? Our taxes need to go to improving public transport not sport stadiums. I'm surprised the MTA hasn't been hit with a hefty law suit considering all the lead paint, and rats. People are people, taxes are taxes, keep the word 'hipster' out of argument. We New Yorkers are all in the same boat. And remember 'courtesy is contagious.'
I take the L every morning at between 7:45 & 8:15. Since September I have NEVER had a train come that I could not get on. I'm not trying to blow up my trick, but I just walk to the rear of the train.
"The NYC subway system is the worst in the world "
you've obviously never been to Boston.
"The NYC subway system is the worst in the world"
you've obviously never been to Boston---their "subway" sits at stop signs next to cars.
PS-usually its rather spacious from Morgan Avenue stop at 8:45
Toby: because the N/W doesn't need trains? And does anyone know what the problem was on the NW this morning?
Worst in the world? Try MUNI in San Francisco!
Nothing says "I'm not from New York (City)" quite like hipster bashing. Most native New Yorkers
(a) aren't hipsters
(b) don't give a flying f@*# about them. At least they aren't in my age group. I can't speak for all those idiot NYU hipsters. (Nothing says "I'm getting older" quite like bashing younger people.)
why would the condos be filled with cokehead trust fund hipsters??
think about it...itd be like hipsters walking around with giant diamond studded clothes and gold bars. a conspicuous embarrassing display of wealth!
everyone around there thinks the condos are ridiculous, dont belong there, are overpriced for rich idiots that dont know any better, pushed polish/native people out of their houses.
so if they were hipsters, the other regular hipsters would make fun of them too much, secretly
Holy shit! A crowded train! CALL THE PRESS!
Seriously folks, wtf? Why is the L train being crowded news?
The E at Rush hour, the 4,6,5 & 2 during most of the day, and don't even get me started on the A are crowded more often than not.
Why does the L get special attention?
Worst subway in the world - SEPTA (Philly). Hands down.
"Why does the L get special attention?"
Because it runs through some of the most 'trendy' neighborhoods in New York, and that seems to be Gothamist's beat these days.
Damn Hipsters
I second #34. The SEPTA is hilariously bad. The stations are clean, but whoevers running it now is an f-ing idiot. Most of the stations don't even sell tokens or have a machine for it. The booth attendants just blankly stare at you before going back to sleep.
I'm surprised no one has addressed the "hipster" issue yet.
Eva, the R160s on the N are the newer technology trains. Putting them on the L and moving the older equipment from the L to the N would help solve the problem.
Also, many people use the L as a Manhattan cross town line, as it is much quicker than the M14 bus. OK, walking is usually much quicker then the M14 bus. Still, the L can be the quickest way across town.
I also agree with #34.
I take the L from union square to Broadway junction daily, the "reverse commute", it's always empty
does half the gothamist readership get on the subway at the lorimer stop? i'm amazed. the long & short of it is, people should move if they don't like the quality of life (or if rent is too high). the UWS won't win any hip awards, but getting on the subway is a breeze at any time of day (except maybe 66th street), and rents are reasonable.
I have to be at work by 9:30am in SoHo, and to me a bad day is not getting a seat on the L train. I live between Graham and Grand - I NEVER have a problem with Grand, and with Graham my biggest problem is maybe not getting a seat.
I never give myself extra time (I leave my house at 9am) and the only times I'm late for work is ... when I'm being too slow. I mean, the L has problems, but so does every other train line. When I used to take the A/E (from Brooklyn Heights to midtown) I wanted to kill myself - I was getting in a packed-to-the-brims train every single day at 7:20 IN THE MORNING. that was horrible.
You idiots don't help when you stand in the way and I can't get off the damn train!
#37 - yes we have to address the hipster issue before they ruin everything, I suggest force reallocation to Hollis.
I live off the Lorimer L stop and I've started walking to work to avoid the overstuffed trains. It's a bit of a hike but feels great. I work at Varick and Spring in SoHo.
Boohoo. Move to East New York. I never have a problem getting on the train from there.
Sorry folks, but this isn't going to be just a problem on the L train. All NYC subways are sardine cans. It's getting worse, not better.
You all need to stop bitchin and be happy the (L) is running period ! It's not the MTA's fault you jokers are moving into, & filling up three neighborhoods at the speed of light ! Don't get me wrong here, I'm not taking sides with the MTA it's just that all the bitching, & Moaning about the service tends to become annoying ! Get over it, You all know what the MTA is all about . They state that fact every time you see one of them stupid signs they post telling you all about service changes and "How there building the system for the next one hundred years" . The sad thing is it may take them half that time to complete all this "Building for the future" .
a couple of points to all the above comments:
the computer system for tracking the trains is not 100 years old (the subway system itself is) and yes it is very capable of tracking trains throughout the system... especially since most train stops are less than a mile apart from each other on any given line.
the L used to be a shitty train. if any of you knuckleheads from the midwest were here in the early 1990's (at least when i first moved into the city) the L was the forbidden train. No one except artists lived in williamsburg or greenpoint and even then yoiu were hard pressed to find an artist.
The L, IMHO has been upgraded supremely over any of the train lines the MTA manages in this city. It seems to be the "testing" line for most of the new advanced trains as well as siginal technology, sound system and arrival/departure monitors.
the very fact that an enormous number of hipsters/bankers/celebrities and trust fund babies have moved out to the Burg and Greenpoint is the very reason the trains are overpacked.
You blame the MTA? How can you? perhaps if you were a leader, you'd find that any number of other options to live near or in the city are around you, not just the hip-ass burg. Try LIC or Washington Heights. Perhaps you're familair with Prospect Heights and West Hell's Kitchen. Maybe you're not and you feel the Burg is your home... well, if that's the case, suck it up and deal with the over populated hood. I feel to pain nor should anyone else about your plight.
I also find it hilarious that the very people who live in Williamsburg (newbies) are the same ones who cry when developers come in to redevelop the waterfront or streets. Where were you 10-15 years ago when all the planning was being conceived?
THE L TRAIN IS A SWELL TRAIN!
Relatively new to the L train (Graham stop), I must say I find the commute a dream when compared to early morning 6 train rides. Waiting for four trains to pass? Ha. I repeat, ha. Try getting to work from 68th Street - Hunter College. Days when I would only have to wait for four trains to pass were ones I considered to be portents of good fortune. I came to consider the 6 train named after how many strips of passenger-filled cars I would have to watch slowly (and indeed, they inched by) pass before I could entertain the notion of standing back and charging the doors to try and secure a nook in cess of equally irate commuters.
I heard that in Tokyo, attendants wait on the platform and shove the jutting passenger limbs in before the doors close. At first it sounded brutal; however, the idea is starting to sit well with me. Any seconds?