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New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials recently touted the agency’s achievements in areas such as construction, efficiency, service and customer communications during 2011.

For example, the agency completed milestones on major construction projects and began service to new and expanded stations, MTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The agency also completed the tunneling for the Second Avenue Subway; excavated the caverns under Grand Central Terminal that will house a new concourse for MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) trains; began work on the last major contract to extend the 7th Line to 34th Street; and opened a new entrance that will lead to the future Fulton Street Transit Center.

In addition, MTA reopened the southbound platform of the Cortlandt St. R station, completed the rebuilding of a station damaged during the 9/11 terrorist attacks; rehabbed the Atlantic Avenue Viaduct to improve service on LIRR; and completed construction of Fairfield Metro Station, the first new station on the New Haven Main Line to be built in more than 100 yeas.

In terms of efficiency, the MTA reduced expenses, including saving nearly $700 million from the 2011 operating budget, and generated recurring savings that will total more than $4 billion by 2015; streamlined its capital program; and began steps to maximize the value of real estate assets, MTA officials said.

To help improve service, the agency rolled out a new fleet of 405 M-8 cars on the New Haven line and appointed an emergency coordinator to facilitate MTA-wide storm response procedures during severe weather storms.

MTA’s rider communication improvements during 2011 included expanding access to real-time digital information.