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The W train will likely be up and running in Astoria by November

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File photo

The MTA’s transit committee voted to approve a plan on Monday that would bring back the W train as soon as November.

An initial plan to resurrect the line was announced by the MTA in February. The W line would come back on weekdays and ultimately replace the Q train, which will be rerouted at 57th Street as part of the Second Avenue Subway plan. Starting in December, the Q will run from 96th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn.

There will be a full board vote on Wednesday, according to MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz.

The W train, which ran from Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria to Whitehall Street in Lower Manhattan, was introduced in 2001 after the Manhattan Bridge north tracks were closed for reconstruction. The MTA ended the W line in 2010 due to budget cuts and Astoria commuters relied on N and Q trains instead.

Queens commuters will be able to access the train from Astoria Boulevard, Ditmars Boulevard, 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue, 39th Avenue and Queensboro Plaza.

As a part of this plan, N trains will operate express in Manhattan from the 34th St-Herald Square stop to Canal Street on weekdays. These proposals cost $13.7 million annually and have already been approved in the MTA’s budget.

AM New York first reported the story.

 

Map courtesy of MTA
Map courtesy of MTA