QUEENS— The MTA plans to bring back the W line this fall in anticipation of the opening of the first Second Avenue Subway stations, the agency said in a press release Friday.
Under the agency's proposal, the W line would replace the current Q service in Queens while the Q line would serve the Second Avenue Subway stations from 63rd Street to 96th Street once they open later this year.
The W line, which was shut down in 2010 because of budget cuts, would make all local stops from Ditmars Boulevard to Whitehall Street via the Broadway Line, but would not run on weekends or late nights, according to the agency, which wants to hold a public hearing about this proposal in the spring.
The Q Line would then temporarily terminate at 57 Street/7th Avenue until the first stations of the Second Avenue Subway open.
At that point, the Q line would operate from 96th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn, stopping at 86th Street, 72nd Street, Lexington Avenue-63rd Street, 57th Street-7th Avenue as well as all express stops on the Broadway Line in Manhattan. The Q train would also run local between Brooklyn and Manhattan during late nights.
Additionally, under the MTA proposal, N trains would operate express in Manhattan from 34th Street-Herald Square to Canal Street on weekdays during peak hours, midday and evenings.
This reorganization will give more commuters more options to travel to Queens and Manhattan using the Broadway N, Q and R lines, the agency said.
“With every day’s work on the Second Avenue Subway, the MTA gets closer to fulfilling a promise first made to New Yorkers in 1929,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast said in a statement.
“Opening the Second Avenue Subway will provide new options for our customers and relieve congestion on Lexington Avenue 4,5,6 trains.”
The changes would cost $13.7 million per year, which has been improved into this year's NYC Transit’s approved budget.
