First Weekend of L Train Slowdown Could Have Been Worse

The long awaited repair work on the L Train between Brooklyn and Manhattan launched over the weekend.

2 minute read

April 30, 2019, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York Subway

Dev Chatterjee / Shutterstock

Ali Watkins and Edgar Sandoval report from the first weekend of a partial shutdown on the L Train on the New York MTA subway system.

"The crowds? Large, but not mutinous. The annoyance levels during the inaugural weekend of the L train slowdown? Present, but predictable."

The MTA is running significantly fewer trains on the L line on nights and weekend for the next 15 to 18 months to make repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The partial shutdown is the work of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who intervened at the 11the hour in a plan to shut down the line completely.

Now the long-awaited repair work has begun, and Watkins and Sandoval report that it all could have gone  a lot worse on the first weekend. "Despite doomsday predictions of long turnstile lines, closed station entrances and dangerously crowded platforms, the L train’s first rehab weekend went as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could have hoped."

At the time of their writing, the return to regular schedules for Monday rush hour was an open question, but Stephen Nessen and Jake Offenhartz picked up where Watkins and Sandoval left off.

"On Monday at 5 a.m, L train service was supposed to return to normal after the first weekend of construction, just in time for the morning rush hour. And it did—for an hour. Then at 6 a.m. an L train with mechanical issues caused delays that rippled to Bedford Avenue, where headways jumped from 9 minutes to 24 minutes."

Still, by 6:40 am, the trains were running on schedule again. New York City Transit President Andy Byford was on hand at the Bedford Avenue and was pleased with what he saw, according to the article. Nessen and Offenhartz offer their own assessment of the weekend slowdown too, and paint a slightly less rosy picture.

Sunday, April 28, 2019 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder