New York City�s subways will run for two more hours every day starting later this month, and the nightly system shutdown for cleaning will be reduced as part of a phased reopening, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday.
Starting Feb. 22, subways will run until 2 a.m., and start again at 4 a.m., the first expansion of operating hours since shutdowns were instituted in May of last year to allow for cleanings during the pandemic.
�We have determined that a shortened overnight closure is an appropriate step forward towards the return of around-the-clock service,� said Sarah Feinberg, interim New York City Transit president, at a press conference with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The cleanings that had gone on between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. will continue in the shortened shutdown period, she said.
�We are confident that we can maintain the cleaning and disinfecting that we have been able to do thus far,� she said.
The shutdown of New York City�s famously all-hours subway system was jarring to many. Barring short-term interruptions by events like severe weather or labor disputes, the subways had been run as a continuous, around-the-clock operation since 1904.
(AP)
