MTA installs Wi-Fi on S train, providing service for riders between Times Square, Grand Central
TIMES SQUARE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Tens of thousands of people who take New York City's subway shuttle across Manhattan between Times Square and Grand Central got a huge upgrade for their commute - cell-phone service!
For the first time on Wednesday, riders aboard the S train didn't lose their phone calls or watch their text messages lock-up. It may be the shortest line in the New York City Transit system, but it now has Wi-Fi from Times Square to Grand Central Terminal.
The MTA has been adding Wi-Fi antennas along a handful of subway tunnels, but never an entire line.
"It's the first line to be fully connected," said MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber. "This is a major step forward in modernizing our transit system, whether it's checking email, answering a phone call. People want to be able to do work on the mass transit system."
The agency is partnering with Boldyn Networks, which is paying the full cost of wiring the tunnels. Cell-phone carriers will pay Boldyn to be part of the network.
It will take years to wire all 418 miles of underground track, but installation is already taking place on the G train in Brooklyn with the No. 4, 5 and 6 trains to follow, from Grand Central to Yankee Stadium.
Riders who spoke with Eyewitness News say they are thrilled. Some say it's about time.
"Yeah, I feel like other metro systems around the world probably already have that. So, it's good that we're keeping up," one subway rider said.
"That is something I've wanted the subway to do for a long time, finally implement Wi-Fi into the subway system," another rider said.
For the 12 million riders who take the S train every year, it's a new kind of "bar car" for the 21st century.
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