G train riders jazzed about open-gangway trains coming in 2025 after ‘summer of hell’ shutdown

G train riders are on track to catching a break.

The crosstown is the next subway line to get the European-style train treatment – and straphangers on the isolated outer borough line are eager to take what they can get after a summer shutdown and subsequent evening repairs.

“The reliability thing is more of a draw to me,” 44-year-old G train rider Chris Schillinger told The Post. “It used to be that the G was not super reliable. Improving that sounds great to me.”

The G train is the next subway line getting the European-style train treatment. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

At least two five-car open gangway trains will be transferred from the C to the G line in the first quarter of 2025 – and riders will have about a 1 in 5 chance of riding an open gangway car, the MTA said.

This summer’s months-long shutdown to modernize the line’s 90-year-old signals promised to make service more reliable by installing a new signal technology, though those hi-tech systems are only scheduled to go live in 2027. 

At least two five-car open gangway trains will be transferred from the C to the G line in the first quarter of 2025 – and riders will have about a 1 in 5 chance of riding an open gangway car, the MTA said. MTA

“That sounds really nice,” 38-year-old coffee shop worker Jenny said of the open-gangway G train plan. “With the G train, they were doing a lot of work over the summer, and I thought after that, the signal modernization would be better – but they keep closing part of the tracks and are still working on it.”

“I’ll take it,” G train rider Nolan Johnson, 35, told The Post. “There’s more space for people to stand on. You can move between cars easier.”

“There’s more space for people to stand on,” G train rider Nolan Johnson, 35, said of the European-style train cars. “You can move between cars easier.” Dorian Geiger/NY Post

The antiquated system is now “past the end of its useful life,” the MTA has said – with some riders even calling the line the “ghost train” due to a perceived lack of reliable service for its 160,000 daily riders.

The new R211T cars, however, are slated to “provide faster, more frequent and reliable service,” according to NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, who said wider doors, better signage and LED displays as just some of the perks G train riders can look forward to.

All open-gangway cars are also equipped with video cameras “to improve the safety of our customers and employees,” Crichlow added.

The antiquated system is now “past the end of its useful life,” the MTA has said – with some riders even calling the line the “ghost train” due to a perceived lack of reliable service for its 160,000 daily riders. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

Some straphangers told The Post that the gangway cars could prevent disorderly and disobedient commuters from unsafely going car-to-car or smoking in between cars while the train is in motion. Some also wondered if limiting outdoor access would perhaps even deter would-be subway surfers.

“As a New Yorker, I like to have an easy way to move out of a certain situation,” Bed-Stuy resident Selina Josephs, 40, told The Post. “So just the fact that I can and if something’s going on in my car, I can just move over without having to open the door.”

“I like that the doors light up, showing you what side of the train the doors are going to open,” Josephs added. “Also I noticed that before you even leave the train, you can see where those stairs are at or if there’s an elevator … in other countries you see that, but, here it’s like, ‘Good luck: Leave and try to find the stairway or elevator.’” 

“As a New Yorker, I like to have an easy way to move out of a certain situation,” Bed-Stuy resident Selina Josephs, 40, told The Post. Dorian Geiger/NY Post

Old train cars also break down six times as frequently as new ones, according to the MTA’s Chair and CEO Janno Lieber, who argues “replacing them is more than just a matter of aesthetics.” 

“This latest purchase will help us get the next generation of rolling stock on the rails sooner so we can keep making the system more reliable and dramatically upgrade the passenger experience,” the MTA CEO said in a statement.

The G will only be the second subway line to get the doorless R211T cars, which historically have yielded mixed reviews from riders — some of which say the trains leave them feeling vulnerable to commotion happening in another car.

The G will only be the second subway line to get the doorless R211T cars, which historically have yielded mixed reviews from riders. MTA

Whether you’re a fan or not, New Yorkers will be sure to see many more of the new R211 cars in the next few years, with the MTA’s Monday announcement of a $1.27 billion purchase of 80 open-gangway and 355 regular train cars due by 2027.

Those accordion-style cars are slated to eventually replace all R44 trains on the Staten Island Railway and the orange-and-yellow R46 subway cars used for decades on the A, C, N, Q, R and W lines, as well as usher in the replacement of the R68s used on the B, D, N and W lines.

“This latest order is putting the MTA closer towards its goal of fully modernizing the system,” MTA Chief of Rolling Stock Tim Mulligan said in a statement. “The R211s are state of the art and less prone to breakdowns, which means smoother trips for tens of thousands of New Yorkers and more reliable service for decades to come.”

One skeptical G train rider, however, said it’s going to take a lot more than just a few new trains to improve the crosstown line.

“New trains are useful — it’s cleaner, it’s good,” the rider, named Steve told The Post, “but it needs more work.”