Love Train (L subway line)

The “L” subway line (14th Street—Canarsie Local) has been dubbed the “Love Train,” after the 1972 song by The O’Jays. A Craigslist survey of its “Missed Connections” section in June 2010 determined that the “L” was the most romantic subway line in New York City and the “Love Train” nickname was immediately used in blog articles and comments.
     
The L train (called LL from 1967 to 1985) has also been called the “Lousy Line/Lousy Local” or simply “Lousy.”
   
           
Wikipedia: L (New York City Subway service)
The L 14th Street – Canarsie Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway, providing service along the entire length of the two-tracked BMT Canarsie Line. It is colored gray on route signs, station signs, rolling stock, and the official subway map.
 
The L service operates between Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, Manhattan, and Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie, Brooklyn, at all times. It also briefly enters Queens at Halsey Street, serving the neighborhood of Ridgewood.
 
Wikipedia: Love Train
“Love Train” is a hit single by The O’Jays, written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Released in 1972, it reached number one on both the R&B Singles and the Hot 100, in February and March 1973 respectively, and was certified gold by the RIAA.
 
It was The O’Jays’ first and only number-one record on the U.S. pop chart. The song’s lyrics of unity mention a number of countries, including England, Russia, China, Egypt and Israel, as well as the continent of Africa.
 
NYTimes.com—City Room
June 28, 2010, 11:30 am
The L-for-Love Train Goes to Williamsburg
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
(...)
But it is striking that romance, always a bit abstract, is apparently now defined as “the best odds of a fellow passenger falling for you across a crowded car or platform, and then posting a ‘Missed Connections’ ad on Craigslist in search of you.”
 
Given the digital savviness required for such criteria, it may not be surprising that the L line, with its more millennial crowd, would top the list (see below). Morgan Avenue came in at No. 1, with usual suspects like Bedford Avenue and Lorimer Street showing up in the top 10.
 
Gothamist
L Train Named Most Romantic Line For Craigslist Users
By Ben Yakas in Arts & Entertainment on June 29, 2010 7:39 AM
The scientists over at Craigslist have been crunching the numbers and have come up with a foolproof analysis of the most romantic subway lines and stations in NYC. And the L train was named the best subway line to find romantic fireworks.
 
Craigslist looked at over 500 ads posted over the period of a recent month by Subway-users in the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist New York; the number of Missed Connections ads mentioning a particular station was then divided by the annual ridership at that stop to determine the romantic formula. The Morgan Avenue stop was named the most romantic station, while the Lexington Avenue/59th Street Station was named the least romantic station.
(...)
COMMENTS
samkim
I’m kind of disappointed that the title for this article didn’t include a L= LOVE TRAIN joke.
 
TheNational (UAE)
Gentrification turns Williamsburg into the new hub of cool in New York
Shirine Saad
Mar 17, 2012
New York’s centre of cool has moved from Manhattan to Williamsburg. Everyday the L train - nicknamed the “Love” train - carries carefully dishevelled types from downtown Manhattan to the Burg, an immigrant neighbourhood first staked out by rebellious hipsters and now flooded with models, Wall Streeters and luxury condos.