The MTA will add rush hour trains to the 7 line once the L train shuts down between Brooklyn and Manhattan for 15 months of repairs starting in April, and separately increase service on the 6 line at the same time.

A BREAKDOWN OF SOME RELIEF FOR THE 6 AND 7 LINES

The transit agency announced Monday that it will add 14 extra round trips to the Flushing Line to ease ridership demand and address the expected influx of passengers who would have taken the L train between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

  • Five extra round trips will be added to the 7 line, starting between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on weekdays.
  • Nine extra round trips will be added to the 7 line, starting between 5:30 p.m. and midnight on weekdays.

Transit officials said riders will need the extra trains at Queens's Court Square station, which is expected to be a busy transfer hub for L train commuters during the shutdown.

"By adding service on the 7 line to prepare for more customers, we're making sure that once the tunnel work begins, Brooklyn riders can get to where they need to go while Queens customers get the service they depend upon," NYC Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

Separately, the 6 train will also receive two additional rush hour round trips in April:

  • One extra round trip, starting between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekdays.
  • One extra round trip, starting between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.

WHAT ELSE CAN NEW YORKERS EXPECT FROM THE L TRAIN SHUTDOWN?

When L trains stop running in Manhattan next year, so will car and truck traffic on 14th St. directly above the subway line.

The city says that from 5 a.m. to 10 pm, seven days a week, only buses will be allowed on the crosstown street, with a few exceptions.

MTA and city transportation officials say about 80 percent of the L train riders are expected to shift to other subway lines, which will see a huge increase in ridership from the expected influx of the new passengers.

Buses will play a significant role, too, in shuttling riders across the East River.

"80 buses per hour, accommodating 4,200 riders," Byford said in June. "80 buses per hour will form an intense bus shuttle across the Williamsburg Bridge."

The MTA says its new ferries will also help, carrying up to 1,190 riders on eight boats per hour.

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