New York to pump $51.5bn into transit

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed investing $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. Janno Lieber, MTA chief development officer, says: “The proposed capital programme will be truly transformational – more trains, more buses, more service, more accessibility and more reliability.” The 2020-2024 Capital Plan would put $40bn into the city’s subways and buses and $6.1bn for 1,900 new subway cars to help mitigate delays. MTA also wa
September 25, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

New York’s 1267 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has proposed investing $51.5 billion in the city’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years.

Janno Lieber, MTA chief development officer, says: “The proposed capital programme will be truly transformational – more trains, more buses, more service, more accessibility and more reliability.”

The 2020-2024 Capital Plan would put $40bn into the city’s subways and buses and $6.1bn for 1,900 new subway cars to help mitigate delays.

MTA also wants to spend $5.2bn on making stations better equipped for disabled riders so that they are no more than two stops away from an accessible station.

Additionally, the authority would utilise $2.5bn to replace more than 2,200 of the oldest buses and expanding the fleet size by more than 175 vehicles. It proposes investing $1.1bn to purchase 500 electric buses, including replacements and additions. The programme is expected to enable MTA to acquire only e-buses from 2029.

MTA says its proposal would provide the investments necessary for the development of the Long Island Rail Road by the planned December 2022 opening of the East Side Access project and the Main Line Expansion. East Side Access is expected to allow more than 160,000 commuters to travel to Grand Central Terminal, saving up to 40 minutes per day while the Main Line Expansion will add a third track on 10 miles of the Main Line corridor.

As part of the capital plan, MTA is hoping to secure $135m for the continuing reconstruction of the Henry Hudson Bridge and the implementation of open road tolling which it claims could reduce potential collisions by up to 41%.

Affiliate agency MTA Bridges and Tunnels is proposing a separate investment of $3.3bn to construct infrastructure for tolling in the central business district.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels president Daniel DeCrescenzo says the plan will help modernise links in the regional transportation network.

“The plan is integrated with other regional transportation programs to build upon the transformative changes and benefits of cashless tolling, and the continuous bus/HOV lane connecting Staten Island to the Gowanus/Brooklyn-Queens Expressway bus/HOV lane implemented in the 2015-2019 capital plan,” he adds.

The MTA board will review the proposed plan today (25 September). If approved, it will be submitted to the MTA capital review board for consideration and approval.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Mersey crossing ends Halton’s congestion misery
    December 5, 2017
    Plagued by intolerable congestion but denied government funding for its solution, tiny Halton Borough Council relentlessly pursued its vision and achieved what many believed impossible. Halton may be a small local authority in north west England, but it had a big traffic problem. However, as the road, or more particularly the bridge, involved was not deemed a strategic route, central government would not commission or even fund a solution - a problem that many other local authorities will recognise.
    Read More
  • The great pay divide
    April 2, 2014
    Public acceptance is crucial for the acceptance of managed and express lanes as Jon Masters discovers. Lists of proposed highway expansion projects introducing variably priced toll lanes continue to lengthen. Managed lanes, or express lanes to some, are gaining support as a politically favourable way of adding capacity and reducing acute congestion on principal highways. In Florida, for example, the managed lanes on the 95 Express are claimed to have significantly increased average peak-time speeds on tolle
    Read More
  • Brooklyn eyes Bogota’s BRT system
    June 17, 2016
    David Crawford considers the increased interest in bus rapid transit and looks that the latest trends. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is gaining an increasingly high profile in the US public transport agenda, for two main reasons. One is the potential for ‘trains on wheels’ to save substantially on installation costs as compared with other modes such as underground metros or light-rail transit. Another, highlighted in the case of New York City, is the value of having a rapid surface-based alternative available whe
    Read More
  • LA confirms $133m transit contracts
    April 5, 2021
    Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project includes rail and monorail solutions for busy road routes
    Read More

Highlighted Content