In the spring of 2019, the L train in New York City will undergo a sustained period of repairs.

We can learn a lot about the value of transportation infrastructure by observing the effects of this disruption.


The L train is a line in New York City’s subway system, controlled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and connects the far reaches of Brooklyn and parts of Queens with Manhattan. It is among the busiest subway lines in the city: according to the MTA, 225,000 people a day use the L Train to travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan and 50,000 people a day use the service solely in Manhattan.


The service delays and suspensions associated with the L train repair project will usher in a period of sustained uncertainty for individuals and businesses that rely on the transit line and alter travel patterns across the city. Who adjusts their behavior to compensate and how they do so can tell us a lot about the value of this piece of infrastructure across multiple scales to individuals, businesses, communities, and the city and region.

The L train runs through Brooklyn, parts of Queens, and Manhattan.

It is slated for major repairs beginning in Spring 2019.



The Consortium of L Train Researchers (CLTR) is an interdisciplinary group of researchers based primarily in the New York metropolitan area interested in exploring the impact of service disruptions related to the MTA’s L train tunnel repairs. Our members include academics and partners with backgrounds in economics, civil engineering, political science, geography, architecture, urban planning, and business.


By bringing together our individual strengths and perspectives we hope to use the disruptions caused by the L train repairs to better understand the value of urban infrastructure and how constraints on mobility and access affect individuals, their neighborhoods, the economic and social fabric of the city and region, and urban resilience.



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