G Train Extension Will be Permanent, Say Sources

The G train extension to Church Avenue is here to stay, sources have told the New York Daily News.

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota and top transit executives will unveil revised budget plans to the board next week, says the paper, and for once, there will be good news for riders. 

The G was extended in 2009, when work on the Culver Viaduct began and the trains no longer had a place to turn around. The MTA extended the route to Church Avenue, which had suitable space for reversing trains. The Culver Viaduct construction is due to end late this year or next year, but the Daily News’ sources say that the G extension will be made permanent.

“It’s just made the line much more convenient,” Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign, told the paper.

Sources either didn’t know or wouldn’t reveal how much money the MTA would allocate for service improvements, says the article, but MTA board members Allen Cappelli and Mitch Pally have been urging the authority to create a $20- million service enhancement fund.

According to Gothamist, MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz would neither confirm nor deny the news.