New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority confirmed the return of the W train on Feb. 19, after the train was taken out of service in 2010.
The train will serve as a replacement for the Q train and will be in service between Astoria and lower Manhattan, according to NBCnewyork. The Q train will instead serve the new Second Avenue subway between 63rd and 96th streets later in the year for its opening.
"Adding the W line to the system will provide more choices to Queens and Manhattan customers who use the Broadway N, Q and R lines, as well as allow New York City Transit to prepare for a seamless transition and connection of service between those lines and the Second Avenue subway," the MTA said in a press release.
Its return will be another option for commuters in western Queens besides the N train, according to NY1. Following the changes, the N train, which goes local in Manhattan, will go express between 34th Street Herald Square and Canal Street.
"I think customers will embrace it," MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz said. "It provides customers both in Queens and Manhattan with new options."
The restoration of the W train, along with other planned service changes, will cost the MTA close to $14 million a year. The MTA also plans on holding a public hearing in the spring on its proposal for bringing the W train back to lower Manhattan.
The W train was first introduced to the subway system in July 2001. Nine years later, on June 2010, it was taken out of service due to financial shortfalls.