After months of setbacks, accidents and technical problems, the nearly-mythical 7 line extension, which will connect Queens with Manhattan's west side, is reportedly opening in February.
The 7, which runs from Flushing-Main Street and currently terminates at Times Square-42nd Street, will soon stretch to 34th Street and 11th Avenue, linking passengers to the Javits Center and the forthcoming Hudson Yards development.
According to the Daily News, the new station will feature a neat spread of flashy amenities, including an on-platform air cooling system and "inclination elevators," in which straphangers will board a glass box and travel up 170-feet at a 27 degree angle, allowing them to daydream briefly that they're off to gamble their fortunes at the Luxor hotel in Vegas and not just heading into another grinding day in the cubicle. Rekindle some of that excitement by remembering the innovative new elevators initially failed their factory test! Despite its $2.4 billion price tag, the threat of electric eels remains an unnerving fantasy.
"People are going to be impressed,” Michael Horodniceanu, MTA capital construction division president, told the tabloid. “This is a station that’s very airy and modern. You don’t have any claustrophobic feeling. The experience is going to be dramatically different.”
Remember, though, that even with the extension, transportation options may still be insufficient to handle the 24 million bonus visitors expected to swamp the Hudson Yards megacomplex. At least there will be a Fairway!
