6 Minutes For 6 Train: Upper East Side Gets Weekend Service Upgrades

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — It's six for six!

The MTA announced Wednesday that the 6 subway train line will get a major boost in weekend service, promising an only six minute wait for the train starting this Saturday, Aug. 12.

That's a two minute reduction from the current eight minute headways.

The MTA said it was part of a phased subway service enhancement process as weekend ridership recovers, targeting areas where average ridership is near 80 percent of pre-pandemic numbers.

But the Upper East Side isn't the only place with good subway news: the 1 train will also get the same service upgrades, according to the MTA.

Nearly 3 million subway riders will benefit from the additional weekend service, the agency said.

“It’s no secret that weekend ridership and discretionary travel are rebounding to pre-COVID levels faster than weekdays, and adding more service is going to help us build on that momentum,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

Lieber and the MTA said that these enhancements are due to $35 million of funding passed in this year's state budget.

“We’ve said this whole time that once the funding is there, we’d look to expand service outside of the weekday peak," Lieber said.

Weekend ridership has recovered at a much faster rate than on weekdays, according to the MTA, with the former seeing nearly 80 percent of pre-COVID ridership while the latter still sits under 70 percent.

In December, the MTA says they plan to extend the six minute headways on the 6 train to include more hours of service.

And next summer, the agency said riders on express Lexington Avenue 5 train should see weekend headways reduced to 10 minutes.