This Wednesday, the MTA revealed and showcased the plans for a new transit line in the city. This would be the city’s first new transit line since 1937. This would be the first new transit line in NYC in almost a whole century. The MTA revealed the pre-renderings of what is being named the Interborough Express, or IBX. This new transit line would serve as a connection between Queens and Brooklyn. Expected to be finished within the next decade or so. This proposed railway would run about 14 miles from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to Roosevelt Avenue with connections to 17 subway stations along the way. Using light rail technology, the trip would take around thirty minutes and wouldn’t even require the city to dig tunnels underground to construct it.
MTA deemed light rail technology as the one that moves the fastest, allowing for more citizens to be transported due to the speeds that trains will move at altogether. All eighteen new transit stations will also have several new features added to them as well. Wider fare gates, several elevators throughout, and plenty of accessibility features and upgrades are some of the ones that have already been revealed by the MTA. The MTA states that the overall design of the new passenger line is expected to be finished and completed by the end of the year.
Governor Kathy Hochul has requested that the MTA fast-track the construction and development of the railway, but the speed of the development also depends on the amount of funding the project receives. A lot of the financial questions depend on the funding contributions of the federal government, as half of the funding from the MTA has already been secured. New York Assembly members are also urging the federal government to fight for kinds of infrastructure developments, with democratic members such as Claire Valdez believing that if the majority of the House and Senate are democratic that, the funding will be there for this new transit line.
