More Than 12,600 New Subway Car Maps and Approximately 1,000 Large Station Maps Will Now Feature the New Second Avenue Line. One Million Pocket Maps Will Be Printed and Delivered.

On-time Opening of Second Avenue Will Include Inaugural Ride on New Year’s Eve; Revenue Service Begins at Noon on January 1.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the installation of more than 12,600 new in-car subway maps and approximately 1,000 large station maps featuring the new Second Avenue Subway line. In preparation for the on-time arrival of the Second Avenue Subway on December 31, installation of the new maps featuring the route on the system’s 6,300 cars began over the weekend. The inaugural ride on the Second Avenue Subway will be on December 31and revenue service will begin at noon on January 1.

“On every subway car, in every station, and throughout New York, installing these maps means that the Second Avenue Subway is finally here and will be open on time,” Governor Cuomo said. “This significant expansion of the subway system, which was more than 50 years in the making, will benefit millions of New Yorkers and is a major step forward toward our goal of modern and reimagined MTA.”

The station maps featuring the new line were delivered Monday and will be posted beginning tomorrow. All stations will have the maps in time for revenue service including in:

  • 1,496 Customer Information Centers
  • 627 free-standing frames on island platforms
  • 292 On-the-Go screens at 61 stations

Maps will also be installed at major hubs throughout Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road territory. In addition, one million folding pocket maps are currently being printed for distribution to customers riding the subway system and the map will also be available on the MTA’s website at www.MTA.info/maps. The MTA is also printing a total of approximately 150,000 new multilingual maps in languages including Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Korean, Italian, Japanese and Chinese.

Revenue service will begin at noon on January 1, when the first uptown Q train to Second Avenue departs from the 57th-7th Avenue station. Trains will run every six minutes during peak hours and will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the rest of the first week. Overnight service will begin on Monday, January 9.

Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway marks the most significant changes to New York City subway service in recent decades, and will be built in four phases. Phase I will provide service from 96th Street to 63rd Street and will serve more than 200,000 people per day, reducing overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Line and restoring a transit link to a neighborhood that lost the Second Avenue Elevated in 1940.

MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast said, “The Second Avenue Subway is the most significant addition to our system in 50 years and will significantly reduce crowding on the Lexington Avenue line. Opening the line on time could not happened without the support of Governor Cuomo and the round-the-clock hard work and dedication of the thousands of men and women on this project who made this opening possible.”

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