Finally, some good commute news: The W train is making a comeback

By Virginia K. Smith | May 25, 2016 - 2:30PM

Amidst plans for the L train shutdown, squabbling over the express F train, and skepticism that the Second Avenue subway will be completed on time, it's been a rough stretch for commute-related news.

So yesterday's news that the MTA plans to bring back the W train was a very welcome change of pace.

As DNAinfo reports, the MTA's transit committee approved plans to resurrect the train earlier this week, as part of changes to the NQR lines tied to the Second Avenue subway's opening. The W, which was a casualty of 2010 budget cuts, would replace the Q for service in Queens, and connect Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan with Astoria Ditmars Blvd on weekdays.

And once the Second Avenue subway is up and running, the Q would terminate at 57th Street in Manhattan, and the N would run express between Herald Square and Canal Street, among other likely changes to the line. Some officials pushed for the W to extend into Brooklyn to supplement spotty R train service, that part of the proposal was shot down, per DNAinfo.

The plan is up for a vote today, and if all goes well, the W could be rumbling back in to town as early as November.

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