The Latest: Trains running on long-awaited new subway line

NEW YORK – The Latest on New York City’s long-awaited Second Avenue subway line (all times local):

1 p.m.

Trains are running on a long-awaited subway line under Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Three new stations on the new Second Avenue line opened to the public at noon Sunday.

It’s expected to carry about 200,000 riders daily. And is seen as crucial to alleviating congestion in the nation’s biggest subway system.

A ceremonial first ride took place on Saturday night for an invitation-only crowd of dignitaries, about 90 minutes before the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square.

The nearly 2-mile segment adds stations along Second Avenue at 96th, 86th and 72nd streets and connects them to a different subway line at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

The city’s transportation board first envisioned a Second Avenue subway in 1929.

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12:15 a.m.

New York residents’ long wait to take a subway under Manhattan’s far Upper East Side is coming to an end.

At noon Sunday, a stretch of the new Second Avenue line is set to open to the public.

Trains rolled ceremonially Saturday night, while dignitaries toasted underground.

The nearly 2-mile segment adds stations along Second Avenue at 96th, 86th and 72nd streets and connects them to a different subway line at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue. It’s seen as crucial to alleviating congestion in the nation’s biggest subway system.

It’s expected to carry about 200,000 riders daily.

The city’s transportation board first envisioned a Second Avenue subway in 1929.