operate on weekdays. The extra car increased the total carrying capacity by 4,000 passengers. The lengthening project cost $400,000. The operation of eleven-car trains ended in 1958 because of operational difficulties. The signal blocks, especially in Manhattan, were too short to accommodate the longer trains, and the motormen had a very small margin of error to properly platform the train. It was found that operating ten-car trains allowed for two additional trains per hour to be scheduled. Until the opening of the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue station on the Archer Avenue lines on December 11, 1988, this was the closest subway station to the Long Island Rail Road's Jamaica station. The opening of the Archer Avenue lines was expected to severely lessen congestion at the Sutphin Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard, and 169th Street stations. Ridership checks conducted before and after the opening of the new line showed that ridership at this station, between 5 and 10 a.m. on weekdays, decreased from 7,282 riders to 2,610 riders, a 64% decrease. In conjunction with the opening of the Archer Avenue lines, service patterns were changed. E trains were rerouted via the new line, running to Jamaica Center, via the Queens Boulevard Line's express tracks, and began running express east of 71st Avenue. However, some E trains continued to run from 179th Street as expresses during the morning rush hour. Service at local stations, such as Sutphin Boulevard, was replaced by the R, which was extended to 179th Street from Continental Avenue. The R extension allowed F trains to continue running express to 179th Street. The changes in subway service angered riders at local stations east of 71st Avenue because they lost direct Queens Boulevard Express service. Local elected officials pressured the MTA to eliminate all-local service at these stations. On September 30, 1990, the R was cut back to 71st Avenue outside of rush hours. Local service to 179th Street was replaced by F trains, which provided Queens Boulevard Express service, during middays, evenings, and weekends, and local G service during late nights. In 1992, the MTA decided to have F trains run local east of 71st Avenue on a six-month trial basis to replace R service, which would be cut back to 71st Avenue at all times. The test started on October 26, 1992 and was implemented on a permanent basis six months later, eliminating express service along Hillside Avenue. In 2003, Metropolitan