The Times Square shuttle, a workhorse of the subway, is getting its first makeover in a hundred years.



The $200 million project work will enable the MTA to add cars to the shuttle and allow people in wheelchairs to get on and off the line safely.



"What makes this project really great is it's a true station modernization," Alex Elegudin, senior accessibility adviser at NYC Transit, told NY1.



The shuttle travels back and forth between Times Square and Grand Central in about a minute.



The biggest change will eliminate one of the line's three tracks and two of the existing three platforms.



Instead, a single two-track platform will be built at both ends of the line, eliminating the long walk—or mad dash—riders endure to reach trains pulling on the most distant track at the Times Square station.



"The whole system here is a little crazy, especially if you're trying to get to the third track and by the time you get over there it's gone," one rider said. "Then you have to run back to the first track, so it's insane. But hopefully it'll be better when it's all done."



The work includes shifting the Times Square shuttle platform east, so trains no longer stop along a curved section of track.



That will eliminate a gap between the train and the platform that is a danger to riders in wheelchairs and has required the use of a wheezy, mechanical gap-filler.



"We have to fix the gaps," Elegudin siad. "Power chair users are not able to manage some of the gaps. As you can see as the train is pulling in, right there, that is a very, very big gap."



Once the curve is eliminated, shuttles will run with as many as six cars, instead of four.



The MTA also plans to widen a stairwell to the shuttle, and include an elevator, on 42nd Street and Broadway.



The MTA also says it might add a walkway between the Times Square station and the B, D, F and M lines at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.



While most riders gripe about the subway, they have a soft spot for the shuttle.



"It does show its age," a rider said. "But there's also kind of a charm about it, the way it's been for all the years that I've lived in New York, anyway."



"It's just like going through time," another rider said. "I love the shuttle. It takes only one ride."



Riders should book extra travel time if they're using the shuttle during construction. The MTA is warning about big crowds during rush hour and less service.



Riders can always take the 7 train as an alternative to get across town.



The project begins August 16, and should take three years to complete.