A train heads back to Rockaways next month

Straphangers will be able to hitch a ride to the Rockaways on A train again this summer, transit officials said Thursday.

After six months since superstorm Sandy struck New York, full service to the A line will be restored May 30 “as to what it was the day before the storm,” said MTA interim director Tom Prendergast. The restored service will benefit about 35,000 riders, according to the MTA.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who nominated Prendergast to run the MTA, said in a statement that the focus of recovery will be on permanent repairs to the transit system. “The difficult work of rebuilding the system to be stronger and more resilient has just begun, but we will build back better and smarter than before,” Cuomo said.

The A train’s limited service in the Rockaways is among the few remaining reminders of the damage the city's transit system incurred during Sandy.

“The people in the Rockaways were hit exceptionally hard,” Prendergast told reporters.

“The transportation impacts have been very, very hurtful for them.”