The opening of the Second Avenue Subway was met with enthusiasm from commuters and the transit workers assigned to the brand new, state-of-the-art facility. NY1'sAmanda Farinacci has that part of the story.

A crowd gathered outside the 72nd St. entrance to the Second Avenue Subway on Sunday, boarding the elevator to head below ground and ride the city's newest train line on its opening day.

Workers who had been laboring around the clock to make that happen were smiling as broadly as the passengers.

"I was very happy to be a part of it," elevator installer Giuseppe Gatti said.

And so too were the many orange vest-wearing transit employees who turned out to work on New Year's Day.

From conductors to information technology officers to ticket agents and customer service reps, it was hard to find anyone who wasn't happy to be at 72nd St., even on a holiday.

"It's an awesome experience to see things finally come through to fruition," said Transit Manager Charles Henschke. "[There was] a lot of hard labor."

"Very historical, very proud to be a part of the MTA, very proud to be a part of this, and it's just a joyous day for everyone," transit worker Victor Lopez said.

Lopez is charged with keeping track of how many customers use the station on a daily basis. He says more than 800 people swiped the turnstile in the first 30 minutes at the facility.

Train Conductor Kendra Gambrell says the immediate crowd gave the workday the feel of something special.

"It was kind of exciting, new," Gambrell said. "We were like the first ones here."

"It's a moment in history that you don't normally see often," said Information Specialist Tunde Olowu. "I couldn't think of a better way to spend my New Year's."

On its opening day, the train station was spotless, probably the cleanest it will ever be. Still, workers say they're confident they'll be able to keep it spick and span.

"We have machinery to do that," said Station Cleaner William Thomas. "We have high-tech machines that clean the floors. And then you got scrapers, we got everything that we need to clean the floors."