After a brief stint in June, the MTA is once again trying out express service for the Bronx 4 line. The new express program has more trains, one more stop and will last seven weeks instead of three weeks.

The MTA launched the original pilot program to evaluate commuter response to morning express trains. The express trains stopped at Woodlawn, Mosholu Parkway, Burnside Avenue and 149th Street, and skipped the nine stations in between these stops. Customers who traveled between Woodlawn and 149th Street saved an estimated 3.5 minutes during their commute, according to a manager from Interborough Rapid Transit East.

Charles Seaton, an MTA spokesperson, said the results from the first pilot “were incomplete because it wasn’t deemed to be long enough.”
The second pilot is running through Dec. 11. Express trains will leave from the Woodlawn station every 20 minutes on weekdays from 7 to 8:20 a.m.

Customer suggestions from the first pilot were used to improve the second pilot. According to an MTA press release, “Bedford Park Boulevard was added to the express stops for the new pilot as a result of numerous requests from customers on the 4 line.”

At stations with express train stops, customers said they generally approved of the program. “It’s good, it is always punctual,” said Robert Danzo, who travels from Mosholu Parkway to 149th Street for work.

Customers who use 4 Line stations that do not have express trains are less enthusiastic about the program. Betty Powers, a Kingsbridge resident who uses the Kingsbridge Road stop, said, “Kingsbridge [Road] is a major stop, I would like to have an express.”