Q train riders will get some overnight relief this December.
Credit: Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Manhattan straphangers will soon get some late-night relief on the Q train.
Overnight Q trains will run local starting this December, making all stops in Manhattan between midnight and 6:30 a.m., the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Wednesday.
Officials said this means commuters at five local stops in Manhattan will see wait times decrease from an average of 10 to just 5 minutes. Travel times are also expected to decrease.
The five stations — Prince Street, 8th Street-NYU, 23rd Street, 28th Street and 49th Street — are currently only served by the N train late nights.
“As we saw increased ridership at local stations along the Broadway Line, it simply made sense to provide these customers with more service,” New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco said in a statement.
Based on MetroCard data from October 2012, New York City Transit’s Operations Planning Division found that shifting Q train service to the local track overnight would see reduced travel times of more than 6 minutes on average.
Commuters at express stations would only see increased travel of about a minute with the change.
Officials said running the Q train locally late nights would save roughly 6,000 customer travel minutes every night.
The MTA said that local stations have seen increased activity during late nights. While overnight entries at express stations grew 12 percent from 2008 to 2012, local stations saw a 28 increase in MetroCard swipes during the same time.
In the past, both 2 and 4 trains were also converted to local service in Manhattan.
When implemented, the Q train service change will cost roughly $73,000 annually.
Follow Anna Sanders on Twitter @AnnaESanders
