By Bill Parry
The MTA’s full board unanimously approved a plan Wednesday that will bring W train service back to Astoria this November. The W trains will run local from Whitehall Street to Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard as part of a reconfiguration so that the Q train can serve the new Second Avenue subway line from 63rd Street and 96th Street in Manhattan to Brooklyn.
The W was lost in the MTA budget cuts in 2010.
Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that the $27 billion 2015-19 MTA Capital Program has received approval from the Capital Plan Review Board, making it the largest investment in MTA infrastructure in state history.
“The MTA is the lifeblood of the metropolitan area’s transportation network and we must ensure it has the capacity to meet the travel demands of the next generation and fuel one of the largest economies on the globe,” Cuomo said.
The negotiating process took nearly two years. Mayor Bill de Blasio will now have to contribute $2.5 billion from city funds.
The investment will fund the purchase of more than 2,340 buses and 1,450 subway cars, continue building the East Side Access project, and begin the extension of the Second Avenue subway line to East Harlem.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
