Interborough Express Fall 2024 Update
By John Pegram[1]
The MTA is showing great enthusiasm for the Interborough Express project. For example, MTA Chair Janno Lieber has said that the MTA was “getting started on the most transformational transit project in generations–the Interborough Express (IBX).”[2]
Several decisions regarding the IBX proposal have been disclosed by the MTA in the past three months. I am pleased that they are generally consistent with my recommendations. In light of those decisions, this update briefly discusses:
Street Running Is Gone
Reevaluating Light Rail Without Street-Running
Station Improvements
Brief Summary of Present Activity and Next Steps.
Street-Running Is Gone
The most significant IBX design announcement of 2024 was made on October 29th, “Within the neighborhood of Middle Village, Queens, the MTA is advancing design of a tunnel solution beneath Metropolitan Avenue rather than on-street operations, making the proposed line less prone to travel delays due to mixed traffic operations. This would result in a shorter end-to-end travel time and a project that is more resilient with a dedicated right-of-way for rail operation, allowing the MTA to offer faster and more frequent service. Conceptual plans include expansion of the existing tunnel or a new tunnel adjacent to it.”[3]
Of course, this is the correct decision.
While I agree that end-to-end travel on the IBX line would be faster without street-running, I am not so sure that it will be significantly faster than the 39 minutes end-to-end time that the MTA consultants had previously projected. That is because the earlier MTA projection did not account for street-running delays.[4]
Reevaluating Light Rail Without Street Running
The original reason (or excuse) for selecting the light rail mode for the IBX line was both that it was the only mode permitting street-running and low floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) would provide easier boarding at the street-level stations, which were included in the IBX Feasibility Study.[5] Also, the original consultants do not appear to have appreciated that A Division, NYC Transit subway cars, used on numbered lines, could fit wherever LRVs could. The street-level stations were eliminated in the PEL Study, published in January 2023.[6] Now, street-running has been eliminated. So why is the MTA still talking about light rail? I have come to prefer frequent, driverless trains. I will discuss these subjects in detail in future articles. For now, a few brief comments follow.
Most importantly, the meaning of “light rail” is ambiguous. One meaning is light duty. Certainly, that is not appropriate for the IBX line. Typically, a light rail vehicles are capable of street-running. That no longer applies to the IBX proposal.
At least one reason may be political. In the past, MTA Chair Janno Lieber has spoken of the IBX as Governor Hochul’s light rail project. Also, there is a certain cachet to the word “light” and it suggests something new, as a light rail line would be for New York City.
During the October 29th press conference, MTA Construction & Development (MTA C&D) President, Jamie Torres-Springer, referred to the IBX as “light rail metro.”[7] That phrase also is vague. Generally, “light rail metro” is a term applied to systems that are more like a metro (subway to New Yorkers) than a tram line. Its use, however could help avoid a loss of face that some people might fear if the IBX project were no longer “light rail.”
Station Improvements
Determining the size and location of stations is one of the most important aspects of the current, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation phase of the IBX project, at least in part because that information is required to prepare the EIS.
Probably the most important improvement in station location was a change in plans for a station in East New York. In the January 2023 PEL Study, the MTA had proposed omitting a station at Broadway Junction, placing the nearest station south of Atlantic and East New York Avenues, and about 1/4 mile from the Broadway Junction station entrance. The public criticism of that proposal was second only to the criticism of the street-running proposal.[8] Now, the MTA proposes to place the station under an MTA-owned lot, north of Atlantic Avenue,[9] as I have indicated on the map below. According to the MTA announcement, “Locating an IBX station here will facilitate transfers to the A, C, J, Z and L trains at the Broadway Junction station complex, as well as the LIRR East New York Station on Atlantic Avenue, creating further opportunities to move efficiently between IBX and the existing transit network and enhancing street activity.”[10] It is gratifying that the MTA and its consultants have now recognized that.
In an earlier, little-noted presentation to the MTA Board’s Capital Program Committee on July 29th, by MTA C&D Senior VP Charles Gans,[11] two important announcements were made concerning other IBX stations. First, the proposed Linden Boulevard Station location has been moved to the north side of the boulevard, where it would provide a better connection to the New Lots Avenue station on the L line, as shown by their map below,[12] and would be closer to homes of more potential users of the station. (I have questioned both the location and the need for the previously proposed Linden Boulevard Station ).[13]
At the same meeting, the MTA also announced that it had changed the design of eight stations from having side platforms to having a single, central platform, as illustrated in their map below. This was promoted as saving costs, for example, by reducing the needed number of stairs and elevators. Some stations are being relocated to avoid the need for rebuilding bridges over the IBX right-of-way, providing a relatively modest reduction in costs.[14]
A disappointment for me in the materials released by the MTA on October 29th was that the station renderings posted with the press release still showed roofs over only a part of a station, with uncovered gaps to the stairs and elevators. See one such rendering below.[15] I hope this is merely the result of using old renderings, rather than representing the latest, preferred concept. IBX riders deserve protection from the weather at all of their stations.
Brief Summary of Present Activity and Next Steps
In July 2023, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) engaged consulting firm WPS USA, Inc. to prepare draft and final Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the IBX project, and conduct related analyses over a period from July 31, 2023 through January 31, 2026. WPS was directed to base its work on the Feasibility Study and the Planning & Environmental Linkages (“PEL”) Study, which had identified the Light Rail Transit (LRT) mode as the “locally preferred alternative” (“LPA”) for the project. I have previously reported on and posted the WPS progress reports of the first year of that work.[16]
The EIS consulting agreement with WPS contemplated that preliminary engineering (PE) would overlap with the preparation of the draft and final Environmental Impact Statements. On October 29, 2024, the MTA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit consultant bids to begin preliminary engineering. The contract is expected to be awarded in early 2025. The PE phases are expected to take approximately two years.[17] The MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan projects expenditures of New York funds for the IBX of $100 million in 2025, $200 million in 2027 and $2,450 million in 2029.[18] The MTA apparently is seeking the remainder of necessary funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), with which discussions are apparently proceeding favorably.
According to the October 29th RFP Solicitation Notice, “The Project is separated into two phases. The first phase (“Civil Phase”) will prepare the corridor to receive the light rail system and includes demolition of existing structures; utility relocation; street-work; environmental remediation; rehabilitation of existing, and construction of new, above-grade and undergrade bridges; construction of new tunnel structures and retaining walls; and repositioning of freight infrastructure. The second phase (“Light Rail Phase”) will complete the design and installation of the light rail system and incudes construction and installation of passenger trackwork, stations, a light-rail vehicle storage yard, an operations center, traction power, signals and other systems; procurement of light rail rolling stock; testing and commissioning; and all other work required to place the light rail system into revenue service.”[19]
This article expresses the personal views of the author and does not express the views of his employer, or any client or organization. The author has degrees in law and physics, and has taken several engineering courses. After five years of work as an engineer, he has practiced law primarily in the field of patents for over 50 years, dealing with a wide variety of technologies. He is a life-long railfan and user of public transportation in the United States, Europe and Japan.
As usual, a PDF copy of this article is attached.
[1] © John Pegram 2024.
[2] MTA, 2024-2029 Capital Plan, p. 5, available at https://new.mta.info/ document/151266.
[3] MTA, IBX Press Release at https://new.mta.info/press-release/interborough-express-connecting-queens-and-brooklyn-moves-forward. See generally MTA, IBX Press Conference video at
.
[4] MTA, Interborough Express – Feasibility Study and Alternatives Analysis – Interim
Report (Jan. 2022) (Interim Report) Appendix 1.17, Table C2, [800/1041], available at https://bqrail.substack.com/api/v1/file/d05afeca-59e3-4e86-98cd-8c83b2e35444.pdf. (Citations to pages of this version, as indicated by a PDF reader, are in the form [###/1041]).
[5] Id., pp. 13, 16 [13/1041, 16/1041]; Appendix 1.6, p. 60 [290/1041].
[6] MTA, Interborough Express Planning & Environmental Linkages Study (Jan. 2023) (PEL Report), is available from the MTA here. Appendix 1.11, “Capital Cost Estimate,” is missing from that version. The most complete version available to the public, including all appendices, was produced to me by the MTA in response to my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and is available for download here. Citations to pages of that version, as indicated by a PDF reader, are in the form [###/1150].
[7] MTA, IBX Press Conference video at 15:10, available at https://www.youtube.com/live/ HEfH7R6j6QY.
[8] See generally There Should Be a Broadway Junction Station on the Interborough Express; An Atlantic Avenue Entrance to the IBX Broadway Junction Station; Interborough Express: Can These Pipes Be Relocated?
[9] MTA, IBX Press Release, supra, note 3.
[10] Id.
[11] July 29, 2024 MTA Board Committee Meetings video beginning at 7:40:30, available at https://new.mta.info/transparency/board-and-committee-meetings/july-2024.
[12] Id. at 7:44:05.
[13] See Should There Be Fewer Interborough Express Stations?
[14] Supra note 12 at 7:44:03.
[15] From “Renderings of IBX Project,” https://new.mta.info/document/155546.
[16] https://bqrail.substack.com/p/interborough-express-progress-reports.
[17] The Solicitation Notice is available at https://new.mta.info/document/155516. See also note 3, supra.
[18] Supra, note 2, p. 221
[19] Note 17 supra.
This is absolutely an opportunity to turn the IBX into a light automated metro like the REM in Montreal, with platform screen doors and driverless trains. Just make a call over the border to CDPQ-Infra.
The fight for commuter rail is far from over, NYC needs the full TriboroRX iteration to the Bronx.