MTA seeking $300 million in federal funding for L line improvements

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The MTA is seeking $300 million in federal funding to update the L subway line.

The agency has applied for a new federal grant to help pay for the improvements.

The Transit Authority wants to add three power substations which would allow for two more trains to run on the line.

It would also include installing new elevators and adding new street-level entrances at some stations.

The L line runs from Manhattan to the Canarsie neighborhood in Brooklyn. Those neighborhoods have seen the largest increases in population in New York City.

More than 300,000 customers use the L line on an average weekday, an increase of 98% since 1998.

The number of weekday customers who enter through the Bedford Ave. station, the line's busiest, has increased by 250%, according to the MTA.

The upgrades would provide a 10% increase in service and could carry 2,200 additional customers per hour.