More of the NYC hurricane recovery subway map will be shaded in on Monday morning at 6am (click for large version)

New York's R train -- which hasn't gone south of 34th Street since Hurricane Sandy -- will make it as far south as Whitehall Street beginning Monday morning.

In an email, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said “the resumption of service to the Whitehall Street station will restore a vital link to midtown’s west side for Staten Islanders and also ease crowding along the Lexington Avenue Line."

The Whitehall station is located near the ferry terminal. The South Ferry #1 station, which was completely flooded during the storm, is still being repaired. The MTA has ballparked the cost of restoring both stations at $600 million.

Cuomo's email called the restoration of service a "herculean task" that required "repairing and replacing track, third rail, communications systems, pumping equipment, electrical feeds and controls."

But straphangers planning to exit at Whitehall could be working out their quadriceps. According to the MTA: "Customers should be aware that only one escalator at this deep station, leading from a landing above the platform to the mezzanine located at the south end of the station nearest the ferry terminal entrance, will be in operation. The escalator at the north end of the station (Stone Street entrance) had previously been removed from service for replacement and remains out. The two escalators at the southern end sustained extensive damage in the wake of the storm but one has been restored to service. We urge anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs to consider using the Rector Street station instead. "

The Montague Tube, the tunnel which carries R trains between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, was flooded during the storm and is still being repaired. Service on the R between the two boroughs is expected by late December.

Want to watch subway service return, post-Sandy? Check out this GIF.

New York's MTA just released a startling video of the extent of the flooding at the South Ferry - Whitehall station, located at the southern tip of Manhattan.

The station recently underwent a $530 million overhaul. When it reopened in 2009, it created a new connection between the 1 train to and N/R line and was the first new subway station in the city to open in 20 years.

Below, for comparison, a photo of the station pre-Hurricane Sandy.