It was smooth riding on the L train Saturday despite months of dread leading up to the partial subway line shutdown that kicked off Friday.
The MTA prepared for the worst with police and transit officials out in droves at Brooklyn and Manhattan stops Saturday to direct expected crowds. But before 10 a.m., there were more cops than passengers on the platforms at the Bedfওord Avenue station in Williamsburg.
“It’s gonna ❀be bad,” one MTA worker said Saturday morning. “Just wait. They might have to shut down the station late🐼r.”
Other than a nonworking countdown clock, the system ran as planned, with Manhattan-bound trains arr🅷iving at the Lorimer Street and Bedford Avenue stations every 20 minutes, soඣme sooner.
Manhattan’s First Avenue station became increasingly crowded as𓄧 the day went on, with one rider quipping that the “packed” platform made her “feel like a true New Yorker.”
“It’s actually running really well,” boasted NYC Transit President Andy Byford about the first 24 hours of🌠 the partial shutdown while vi♉siting the Bedford Avenue station.