40 january 2016 i LIC COURIER i www.qns.com ■TRANSPORTATION 7 train to shut down for eight weekends in 2016 By Angela Matua As the MTA continues to make capital improvements along the 7 line, the agency has scheduled a number of shutdowns next year. The weekend shutdowns are scheduled to take place on Jan. 22-25, March 18-21, April 1-4, April 15-18, Oct. 21-24, Oct. 28- 31, Nov. 11-14 and Nov. 18-21. Each are weather permitting. Between 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday on these weekends, 7 trains will not operate between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square-42nd Street in both directions. The MTA will provide free shuttle buses that make stops at Queensboro Plaza, Court Square, Hunters Point Avenue, and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue in Long Island City. Service along the N and Q lines will increase during that period and E and G service will operate regularly. The agency will look to finish installing and testing communications based train control (CBTC), a modern signaling system that is scheduled for completion in 2017. The system will allow for “countdown clocks, increased operational flexibility and reliability, system safety improvements and increased capacity to run more trains per hour,” according to the MTA. Tracks along the 46 Street-Bliss Street and 52nd Street stations, and near the Flushing-Main Street stop, will also be replaced during these shutdowns. The reconstruction of the Steinway Tunnel, which was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, is also scheduled for completion next year.
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