‘A’ train service will roll back to the Rockaways on Thursday, May 30, Gov. Cuomo announced today.
Superstorm Sandy wiped out hundreds of feet of track and miles of signal, communications and power cables serving the Rockaways. The ‘A’ train now runs only as far as Howard Beach, where Rockaways-bound riders have to board buses to finish their trips.
After an “all-out” effort by MTA employees and contractors, 1,500 feet of track has been restored, and two stations that were completely flooded were rehabilitated.
The MTA has also installed two miles of corrugated marine steel along its Jamaica Bay right-of-way it hopes will protect the track against future storms.
In all, Superstorm Sandy caused $4.755 billion worth of damage to MTA train and subway lines and to its bridges and tunnels.
Worst hit was the South Ferry subway station, which the agency says will require years of repair work.
The South Ferry repair job and other Sandy-related work will be overseen in the coming years by a new Sandy Recovery and Resiliency Division within the MTA’s New York City Transit subsidiary.
“The goal is to protect all points where the subway system could be flooded by a storm,” Cuomo’s office said in a statement.