Rail good imagination, Andy

THE SUBWAY’S not so bad, if you squint.

After two subway meltdowns over the last week, Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday that people who are “looking very carefully” can see that the trouble-plagued train system has improved.

“I would venture to say if you were looking very carefully, you would see improvement already,” Cuomo told reporters at his Midtown office when asked how long it would take for riders to get relief from a subway rescue plan released in July.

On Thursday, a third rail cover that came loose and ended up on the tracks cut off service on the 1, 2, and 3 lines in parts of Manhattan at rush hour.

And on Sunday, a power outage caused shutdowns and delays in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Cuomo did not cite data showing better service, but said people have told him it has gotten better. It could take a year for the full effects of MTA Chairman Joe Lhota’s rescue plan to be felt, he said.

“There’s no doubt the MTA still has a long way to go. I believe their time frame on their emergency plan that they laid out was about a year for the implementation, give or take. So I would give them that period of time,” he said. “But if you look closely, you see improvements. I mean, I hear from people who say the tracks look cleaner or the service seems better. So I'm hearing it already.”