MTA plans G train improvements

Riders of the modest four-car G train will see improvements and potentially more service during weekday afternoons if funding can be found, the MTA said in a full audit of the line.

The MTA review, at the behest of Brooklyn state senators, Daniel Squadron and Martin Malavé Dilan, recommended changes to make the 11.4-mile line more predictable and operate more evenly, as well as to end the so-called “G train sprint” to catch the short train when it stops in a station.

“It really is everything we could have hoped,” Squadron said outside the Metropolitan Avenue G-train station at a press conference with Riders Alliance, a transit group. “It points to ways to increase service, improve reliability and it also makes the rider experience so much better.”

The G train is, unfairly or not, a maligned transit line where riders have countless stories of long waits and unreliable service. The call for improvements to the G train, which is the only one that serves Brooklyn and Queens without going into Manhattan, comes amid a period of increased ridership — 29% since 2003.

Despite this growth, ridership “still remains relatively low compared to the rest of the system,” the MTA audit said.

Still, the MTA report said an increase in evening peak service in mid-2014 is possible if the agency can cover the $700,000 in operating costs. The additional service would mean 7.5 trips per hour between 3 and 9 p.m., a 25% increase, and reduce headway from 10 minutes to 8 minutes.

To make service more consistent, the MTA will adjust the stopping position of the G train and add signs by end of 2013 so riders won't have to run in order to catch up to car doors.

One G train rider, Amy Jay, a Williamsburg writer who works in Long Island City,said the G train is “not very reliable” and welcomed the MTA's recommendations.

“I think it's really smart,” she said. “It's the only line that connects all of Brooklyn.”