If Amtrak had gotten that kind of money, they could rehabilitate the entire NEC, build an entire grade seperate high speed rail line that doesn't have other services on it, and still have like 100 billion left for cities around the country.

if wishes were fishes. :shrug:

There should be an "Airport Express" between LaGuardia - JFK and Newark with maybe one stop at the World Trade Center in between JFK and EWR.

actually it would be a heck of a lot easier to connect the existing jfk airtrain in jamaica with lga. i think cuomo was angling in that direction with his eastern angled lga airtrain plan, albeit leaving that last leg airtrain connection down the van wyck for the future. a jfk to lga airtrain ride could even have made for an easy, rather stealth, outer loop transit option. :shrug:

Agreed! For NYC not to have one? Beyond basic!

Conceptually sure you could turn AirTrain into legit mass transit instead of just an airport service but that would mean building intermediate stations and not charging $8 to use it, which I doubt the Port Authority has any interest in.

They can barely be bothered to consider fixing the absolute disaster that is the fare control at Jamaica so I think their ambitions in this department are pretty limited.

well, yes like anything you can shoot it down five ways until tuesday, but connecting the airtrain to lga and jamaica/jfk is a good idea in itself — and as for public transit options on it, by the time they would build it using mta would cost around that much anyway.


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they want the deets on financing the penn upgrade improvements:

https://nypost.com/2022/06/15/ny-sen...-station-redo/

How should it be paid for?

Preferably with money.

Possible mix of revenue sources:

Combination of:

General fund taxes from New York and New Jersey
Federal infrastructure money
Airport parking fee increases
Extra charges for ride share and taxi trips to the airports after the Airport Express line is built to fund/subsidize its operations.
Slightly higher landing fee for airplanes during construction to go towards financing the line.
Slightly higher gate fees for airlines
The higher landing fees and gate fees for the airlines could be waived in exchange for the airlines actually directly financing the express subway line,
Surcharges on the "duty free" shops at the airports
Perhaps some limited tax free status for construction companies that get the contracts for construction.

The issue is that it would cost billions and billions........just look at the East Side Access, Gateway project, and 2nd Ave subway expansion.

speaking of billions and how should it be paid for — nys senate oversight committee on penn plans:


https://gothamist.com/news/state-sen...velopment-plan

The Economist noted this week that pre-pandemic ridership on the New York Subway was circa 60% (with violent crime and slow return to the office) being a drag on ridership recovery, but that won’t remain the case forever. Ridership levels will recover, and pressure will return on existing routes to increase capacity.

New rail lines to underserved areas will always draw a lot of support, and there is merit in the likes of the Interborough Express for a variety of reasons (orbital journeys, increased transit access, new journey options, etc…) especially utilised an existing rail corridor, although the price being floated around is rather crazy. Infill stations on the commuter lines would also help provide new transit access. Brand new alignments will be less likely due to New York’s otherworldly construction costs and less beneficial.

Automated signalling (aligned with rolling stock renewal) is one of the most cost effective upgrade projects to boost systemwide capacity on existing lines. The New York Subway has probably the most interlined network on the planet so automation goes beyond increasing the number of trains that can run on a single track each hour, fewer delays, faster speeds, with higher safety confidence and improved acceleration and deceleration. It takes time – London started work back in the early 2010’s and it won’t be complete until sometime in the 2030’s – but the uplift in capacity is equivalent to several new lines. Automation works on non-metro lines where there is heavy congestion/demand for high frequencies, so imagine the massive uplift in capacity into New York Penn.

25-year old woman falling off on subway tracks. She had a seizure. She had a head injury. She is expecting to be okay. She will be all right.

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2...rhr9Re7RMCkuy8

Yeah but what about the dude that got pulled under the train on the Brighton Line the other day?

i would say if it comes down to time and money then getting ibx up and running expediently is the prime concern. automation is a system wide issue. if they want to try it with ibx then fine, but i can’t imagine there is money or patience for that. maybe, we will see.

as far as expanding infill stations on commuter lines, there is very good news on that front as mta is definitely moving along with four new mnrr stations in the bronx. and perhaps even another new one in queens that would hopefully align with an ibx transfer:

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...oject/3054435/

nys lawmakers forging a reign on penn — w/gateway news:



State Lawmakers Seek Power to Derail Penn Station Megaproject
Echoing the Amazon HQ2 fight, state senators demand a say in Midtown Manhattan redevelopment and hunt for details on vague finances.

BY GABRIEL POBLETE JUN 27, 2022,


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A separate project called Gateway, a $12 billion plan led by New York, New Jersey and Amtrak to create two one-track tunnels that would run under the Hudson River and connect Penn Station and New Jersey, is in early stages. Amtrak recently awarded a contract for the design of the station, the New York Times reported.


more:
https://www.thecity.nyc/manhattan/20...-amazon-hochul

more guns yay! :rolleyes:


MTA reviewing rules allowing licensed concealed carry in transit after Supreme Court ruling on guns

https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-gun...-court-ruling/

Can we talk about that zoom commentor at the MTA board meeting that accidently showed off his porn folder on his desktop screen....:haha::facepalm:

Tell me that's somebody here. (No it wasn't me...not a smellt it dealt it situation)

That's what you get when you get a supermajority of originalist loonies on the court. Practical consequences be damned right?