Service added during R, G train tunnels closures

The MTA will add more bus and train service to mitigate disruptions on the G and R lines during repairs of tunnels damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

The changes aim to lessen riders' headaches before the closure of the Montague and Greenpoint tunnels that take the R train between Manhattan and Brooklyn and the G train in and out of Queens, respectively.

The R will only run in Brooklyn to Court Street, and from Queens to Whitehall Street in Manhattan, for 14 months starting in August, while the G will be served by a shuttle bus between Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn and Court Square in Long Island City for 10 weekends throughout the year. The changes were pushed by the Riders Alliance, a transit group.

The MTA said R train riders in Brooklyn will get 25% more service on the X27 express bus from Bay Ridge to lower Manhattan, starting Sept. 9. There will also be "gap trains" to add service in the event of delays on the No. 4 and 5 trains and D, N and R lines.

G train riders, meanwhile, will be spared from construction-related diversions on the nearby L and No. 7 trains.