It’s about to get a lot easier coming home to Bay Ridge late at night.
The after-hours R train will make all stops in Brooklyn starting this fall, connecting nocturnal Ridgites to six additional subway lines, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials announced on June 16. Right now, Bay Ridge’s lone locomotive only chugs between 36th and 95th streets, so the change can’t come soon enough for locals who endure long, witching-hour waits in Sunset Park to catch one, said one rider.
“They should’ve done it a while ago … this is the only train we have in Bay Ridge,” said Rachel Jermansky, who has at least once given up on the shuttle. “My longest wait was 30 minutes, and I actually took an Uber — I said ‘I’m not waiting for this train.’”
Soon, the late-night “Rarely” will make all the Brooklyn stops it does in the daytime, connecting Ridgites to the 2, 4, A, F, G, and Q trains — in addition to the N and D that the shuttle currently reaches.
The new service will still run every 20 minutes, but transit officials claim the plan could cut wait times for some commuters “by nearly half,” because they won’t be forced to take an N or D train to reach the overnight R.
And it will run in both directions, so people flocking to Bay Ridge for its storied nightlife can get home easier, too.
The shuttle will also go one stop into Manhattan, a neighboring borough.
