Cuomo Touts Full Funding Of Subway Action Plan

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says funding included in the recently passed state budget will allow New York City subway cars to be repaired quicker, improving service for a transit system notorious for frequent breakdowns.

Cuomo says the more than $800 million included in the state budget for emergency repairs to the aging subway system will enable the city's transit agency to hire more workers for the 207th Street Car Overhaul Shop and another repair facility in Brooklyn.

The shops will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cuomo says they'll fully rehabilitate more than 1,300 cars a year, nearly 40 percent increase over previous years.

"The subway system is the lifeblood of New York City, and the newly fully funded Subway Action Plan is essential to deliver a mass transit system of the caliber that New York's economy and people require and deserve," Cuomo said. "Enhancing the reliability of subway cars leads to fewer delays and better performance for riders, and we are determined to further modernize the system quicker than had ever previously been thought possible."

The Democrat made the announcement Friday after touring a sprawling repair and maintenance facility along the Harlem River on Manhattan's northern end.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)