Mixed Blessing? Times Square Shuttle Train Gets Cell Service

MIDTOWN, NY – The ride between Times Square and Grand Central Station may be short, but straphangers will now be connected, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced on Wednesday.

The shuttle, which serves 12 million riders annually, is now equipped with 5G wireless connectivity. It’s a first for the city’s massive system, as the MTA moves to add connectivity to all 418 miles of its tunnels, including 191 above-ground and 21 Staten Island Railway stations.

While that does mean straphangers will be able to text, check email, and browse, it also means riders will be able to make phone calls.

Yes: phone calls.

Next Up? The Upper East Side And Brooklyn

The next trains to receive connectivity are the 4/5/6, between Grand Central Station in Midtown and Yankee Stadium – 161 Street – in the Bronx.

The Joralemon Street tunnel, through which the 4 and 5 trains move between Manhattan and Brooklyn, will also be connected.

Nearby in Brooklyn, the G train – where extensive work was recently completed – is also on the list.

The upgrades are the result of a public-private partnership with Boldyn Network, a large multinational provider of shared network infrastructure, officials explained.

“What we're doing here is the most efficient way to bring cell connectivity: every time we go to do work in a tunnel, we're going to say to our friends at Boldyn, come on in. Be ready, pull that cable. Install that infrastructure. Take advantage of the outage,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

“It's going take a few years, but we're going to make the entire system fully connected in the most efficient way possible, which is during other construction outages.”

The price tag? Hundreds of millions of dollars, apparently at no cost to the MTA.

“This is a public-private partnership, and the capital investment is being made by our private partner. We had an estimate prepared when we finalized our deal on this, that they would be investing $600 million in it, and there's a $1 billion total estimated benefit for the riders of the New York City transit system,” said Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA construction and development.

“There is no cost to the MTA, there is no public money, and we're excited about that. It's a great way to make improvements in the system.”

Patch welcomes your thoughts on the addition of cell phone service to the subway. Email michael.mcdowell@patch.com.