MTA: N/Q To Get Visual Train Status Updates, With Countdown Clocks Ultimately Planned

Oct. 21, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge

Although the N/Q line may have years to wait on countdown clocks for its platforms, it will receive more basic train information screens by 2016, according to the MTA.

MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said that screens will be installed by the end of next year to tell passengers when trains are approaching in terms of the number of stops.

Although they use the same hardware, these screens will differ from countdown clocks because they will not provide time-based information or identify trains by letter.

Ortiz said they provide a “stopgap measure” until the arrival of countdown clocks, which are planned as part of the MTA’s 2015-2019 Capital Program.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and MTA Tom Prendergast announced earlier this month that they had reached a funding agreement for the Capital Program, totaling $26.1 billion.

However, it may be years before Astoria straphangers see the results; the details and timeline of the Capital Program are still in flux.

Gianaris

Ortiz said the plan will be finalized “in the coming weeks.”

State Sen. Gianaris said he was “pleased” with the planned upgrades.

“There is a continuous need for service improvements and I hope this is a sign of things to come for Astoria and other rapidly developing western Queens neighborhoods,” he said in a statement.

Reach reporter Jackie Strawbridge at jackie.strawbridge@queenspost.com