L Train is Back

L train work is complete ahead of schedule... now that we're not riding subways

Remember when the L train shutdown seemed like it would be the biggest hindrance to going out in NYC this year and last, and a huge nuisance overall? NY Governor Andrew Cuomo stepped in at the last minute with a change of plans that meant the line wasn’t shut down entirely, except on certain weekends and evenings and, now, with our world (and subway riding habits) entirely changed with the coronavirus pandemic, work on the L has actually finished, ahead of schedule.

“It was a thunderstorm of opposition, but we did it anyway and we went ahead with it,” Cuomo said at a Sunday news conference, as the Daily News reports. “We rebuilt the tunnel, and the tunnel is now done better than before.”

“It opens today,” he continued. “The proof is in the pudding. It’s ahead of schedule, it’s under budget and it never shut down.”

Special service that was running on the M, G, and 7 lines, as well as special M14 bus service, will stop now that L work is complete; find full details here.

In normal times, this would be great news, but if you’re anything like us, you haven’t been riding the subway very much lately (I haven’t in over a month, myself). And as the MTA’s own graphic says… “you should still stay home.”