NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A boost in New York City subway service will be rolled out throughout the summer, thanks to funds authorized in the new state budget, a senior MTA official said.
The money will allow additional trains on more than a dozen lines, as well as more train operators, the unnamed official told the Daily News.
Additional weekend trains are expected to be added to the J, G, and M lines in July, reducing wait times to less than 10 minutes.
Weekend 1 and 6 trains should run every six minutes by August, and weekday midday service on the C, N and R lines will grow, the official said.
By December, the G train will have increased weekday midday service, and extra trains are scheduled to be added to the C, N and R lines on weekday evenings.
According to the plan, more weekday trains will be added to the J and M lines, as well as the B and D lines, by the summer of 2024. The additional trains are expected to arrive every eight minutes.
The 3 and 5 lines are due to receive additional rolling stock next summer, reducing weekend wait times to 10 minutes.
The expansions are contingent on the passage of the "conceptual agreement" on a state budget reached by Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers last week.
A Hochul spokesperson told the Daily News on Tuesday that the exact amount planned for extra subway service is still being negotiated, but the MTA official said the agency expected $35 million in funding to run more trains.
Though the official said that the MTA is attempting to achieve the six-minute wait times urged by transit advocates, some lines are limited due to how closely trains can run on the system's century-old signaling infrastructure.
The Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 trains, which already run close to maximum frequency, are some of the lines affected because they already operate at near capacity. The official told the paper it will also be difficult to increase lines like the F and M, which merge near Rockefeller Center, or the N and Q, which merge near Times Square.
Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizen’s Advisory Council to the MTA, told the Daily News the service boosts are "hard fought and sorely needed."
"The good news from this budget just keeps on coming," she said. "We will be reaping the benefits for years to come."
"It's a very big deal for riders," said Danny Pearlstein, spokesperson for Riders Alliance, which spent the budget season advocating for six-minute subway service. "This is the biggest advance in service that we’ve seen in our lifetimes."
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