New York’s real New Year’s Eve party

MTA New York City Transit’s long-anticipated Second Avenue Subway will make its inaugural run in time for New Year’s Eve, with revenue service launching at noon on Jan. 1, 2017.

Representatives say the completed first phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which is designated the Q Line, signifies the most impactful changes made to New York City’s subway service in decades. The subway is set to be built in four phases, with Phase I providing service from 96th Street to 63rd Street. The line is expected to serve more than 200,000 passengers daily, officials say.

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 Jan. 9.

“The Second Avenue Subway is the most significant addition to our system in 50 years and will serve more riders on opening day than Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Boston transit systems combined and will significantly reduce crowding on the Lexington Avenue line,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast. “Opening the line on time could not [have] happened without the support of [Governor Andrew M. 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.”

“New Yorkers have waited nearly a century to see the promise of the Second Avenue Subway realized, and after unrelenting dedication from thousands of hardworking men and women, the wait is over and the subway will open on December 31,” said Gov. Cuomo. “The on-time completion of this major, transformative project reaffirms confidence in government competence, increasing capacity on the nation’s busiest subway system, and delivering a new, vital transportation artery to millions of New Yorkers.”