The MTA is getting set to eliminate the Queens bound W train, drawing howls of protest from Astoria residents (Pic Courtesy: The Daily News)
The “W” line that runs from Astoria, Queens, to Manhattan’s South Ferry is the quintessential middle child. It has trouble attracting attention and competes with its three other siblings, the N, Q, and R lines.
The elimination of the “W” line drew howls of protest from local commuters who take the train to and from Astoria, but what about commuters downtown – who take the train from Manhattan to South Ferry?
Kiwi Grady, who commutes from New York University to Whitehall each day, says she could easily take other trains if the “W” doesn’t show up. “As long as the “R” runs I will take that. I can also take the 4 or 5 which are faster but more crowded.”
Grady believes the elimination of the “W” would hit commuters to Queens the hardest. “Down here in Manhattan, you have a lot of options. But for those in the outer boroughs, they’ll be hit hardest”. Fred Willis, who hopped on the “W” at 42nd Street, agreed. “I don’t think, it makes a big difference downtown,” he said, adding, “it is just a convenient connector.”
The axing of the “W” line is just one of the several service reductions outlined in the MTA’s 2010 budget. The “Z” train and 24 bus routes are also to be canceled, and free student MetroCards will no longer be offered. The cuts are meant to close a $383 million budget gap.
But for commuters on the downtown “W” line, crowds are not a worry. “It is crowded only in rush hour,” said Davawn Cassidy, a package delivery man from Brooklyn who rides the train more than ten times each week. “The R train runs on the same line, and the N is an express – so no worries,” Cassidy smiles and draws his big bag of packages around him in a car that has only two other people in it.
So, will commuters downtown miss the “W” when it is finally guillotined?
“I missed it now,” puffed Maria Bido, as she watched the train pull away from the platform.
Read more:
Commuters in LIC/Astoria protest “W” train cuts.
