L Train Takes A Summer Friday In Brooklyn, Stranding Riders
May 17, 2019, 11:09 a.m.
We hope the L train enjoys its long weekend!
How many New Yorkers were late to work today because of the @MTA and the #Ltrain? I’ve never seen it this bad before and this was Friday morning rush hour—not evening hours or on the weekend. pic.twitter.com/ybL041EiBP
— Cathy de la Cruz (@SadDiego) May 17, 2019
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the glorious weekend is right around the corner. So can you really blame the L train for snagging an early summer Friday? It's not like you had anywhere to be today, right?
According to the MTA, L service between Broadway-Junction and Lorimer was fully suspended earlier this morning, after a broken third rail near Halsey Street caused several trains to lose power. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of daily L train commuters with bosses apparently less chill than the MTA, who were expected to somehow get to work this morning. Too bad!
Waiting for *another* L train to pass us at Broadway Junction?? We don’t know. Only signs are for Manhattan-bound. #cuomosmta pic.twitter.com/c4YbQ2s0yd
— Carol Still (@CarolStill5) May 17, 2019
Suffice to say @NYCTSubway having a brutal Friday morning. Full on clown show with this L train debacle. No announcements or anything.
— Courtney Laidlaw (@courtoflaw88) May 17, 2019
Overheard on the #Ltrain train platform “I have a work thing I need to be at 10am or I will be fired” oh man! pic.twitter.com/OSQzZgsYw4
— Makho Ndlovu (@makhondlovu) May 17, 2019
Woke up to discover that the L train wasn't running into Manhattan and decided to walk to the G train take it to Court Square, catch the M and walk to work from there. https://t.co/Uq0tzbyTQ7
— Edwina Hay (@threeminuterule) May 17, 2019
While the MTA said that full service would be restored by 7 a.m., lengthy delays seemed to drag on for most of the morning. Some riders were offered the option of shuttle buses, though that courtesy was not extended past Broadway Junction, since the issue was "not foreseen." Those who did eventually get a bus said they'd spent close to an hour on a dangerously packed platform. Some people just gave up entirely.
Hey @MTA , this morning I waited 40 minutes for an L Train, to then be offered a mere shuttle bus. By the way, they had to call EMS and police for the crowds. Thanks for the wonderful Friday 🙄
— Ericaz World (@Ericaz_World) May 17, 2019
This is the 3rd L train that’s come. They are all like this. I think I gotta give up at this point. #LTrain pic.twitter.com/Ju5a0Qb9q5
— Makho Ndlovu (@makhondlovu) May 17, 2019
@NYCMayor FIX THIS BEFORE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT 😑 #Ltrain #MTA @MTA pic.twitter.com/ceTOiXmURP
— Sara Simons (@SaraGSimons) May 17, 2019
An MTA spokesperson said the issue was not related to ongoing repair work on the Canarsie Tube—same as Monday morning's meltdown, and also last Friday's. It's unclear how the third-rail came to be so FUBAR that service had to be suspended in a majority of Brooklyn.
Beginning at 8 p.m. tonight, the L train will begin reducing service for weekend work, with trains coming every 20 minutes as a best case scenario until Monday morning. The MTA recommends seeking out alternate means of transit—the bus or the M train or a catamaran, literally anything but the cross-borough route that is ostensibly supposed to still work.
We hope the L train enjoys its long weekend!
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