New York City is one step closer to getting its first light rail. But it’s still going to be awhile.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that the engineering and design phase of the previously announced Interborough Express has started, the next leg in the development of the transit project.
When completed, the long-discussed and highly touted Interborough Express, could get people from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights in 40 minutes or less and connect up to 17 subway lines, and create more connections to Manhattan.
The Interborough Express Line, a major transit expansion that would serve nearly 1 million commuters daily and generate significant economic growth, has been a concept in the making for decades.
The IBX will be the first new end-to-end rapid transit built entirely within New York City since the IND Crosstown Line, now called the G, fully opened in 1937. IBX stations built in Brooklyn will be the first transit stations built in the city’s most populous borough since the A line extended from Broadway Junction to Euclid Ave in 1948.
IBX stations in Queens will be the first new transit stations built since the Archer Avenue extension of the E, J, and Z lines to Jamaica in 1988.
“Building the Interborough Express will transform New York, connecting communities like never before, shortening commutes and unleashing the full potential of Brooklyn and Queens,” Hochul said in a statement. “The IBX is the sort of project that future generations will describe as a no-brainer, and thanks to funding we secured for the MTA’s Capital Plan, we’re not just talking about it – we’re getting it done.”
Handout
Handout
Rendering released by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office
Stops along the way would include Sunset Park, Borough Park, Kensington, Midwood, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Lots, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Maspeth and Elmhurst.
MTA
MTA
The MTA previously shared a look at the corridor where the line would be built.
A transit line along this stretch, Hochul has said, would still preserve freight service and capacity will shepherd millions of New Yorkers a week, adding convenience for many and improving the daily quality of life for millions with limited mass transit access along the corridor immeasurably. It’s a powerful equalizer, Hochul says.
For context: 7 of 10 residents within a 1/2 mile of the corridor are people of color; 1 in 2 are zero-car households; 3 in 10 households are below 150% of the poverty line; and 1 in 4 residents report speaking English “less than well.”
At the same time, the corridor features a high concentration of jobs and people, with extensive growth projected over the next two decades. In 2020, the population was about 900,000 and is expected to be 941,000 by 2045. The 260,000 jobs in the area in 2020 are expected to boom to 275,000 in the same amount of time.
Determining fares will be the responsibility of the MTA Board when the time comes, but Hochul said they are expected to be equivalent to standard subway fares.
Public transit between Brooklyn and Queens has long been a slow, tedious process, with existing subway lines oriented toward Manhattan and the G subway line the only one that transports riders directly between the two boroughs.
The Interborough Express would supplement Manhattan transit, too, with fast new reliable connections, according to Hochul. She says the corridor would connect up to 17 subway lines, in addition to the Long Island Rail Road, expanding access to jobs for the 85,000 or so daily commuters from those areas who work in Manhattan.
Nearly 130,000 residents who make daily trips within or across Brooklyn and Queens, who now rely on buses that get caught on traffic or that one cross-borough subway line, to reach their destinations would reap extreme benefits, too.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says the proposed Brooklyn-Queens rail connection will give people back 30 minutes or more a day by shortening commutes.