In November 2023, Governor Hochul secured full funding for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway to 125 St. In April 2023, Governor Hochul provided unprecedented state support to solve the MTA’s post-pandemic fiscal cliff and chart a long-term sustainable and efficient future for the agency. In January 2023, Governor Hochul opened Grand Central Madison, bringing LIRR service to east Midtown, shortening commutes and increasing service for Long Island and Queens riders. In December 2022, Governor Hochul broke ground on the Penn Access project, which will bring Metro-North service to Penn Station and to previously unserved communities in the Bronx.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “The IBX is a life-changer for millions. It’s about time Brooklyn and Queens residents could move directly between our two most populous boroughs – for jobs, education, recreation and everything else. I want to thank Governor Hochul and our partners in Albany and Washington for their support getting this project off the ground.”
MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said, “The Interborough Express will transform mobility in New York’s two largest boroughs with fast, reliable, frequent public transit. I look forward to getting the design process underway and continuing the MTA’s track record of completing projects better, faster and cheaper than ever before.”
Design Progress
Project design will officially kick off this summer, focusing on light rail system design including: communications and signal design, vehicle design, track design, plus civil engineering efforts such as station design, bridge reconstruction and retaining wall design and design of the operations facility and storage yard. The design process is the last major step in the project before formal construction begins.
The project has undergone further refinement to ensure that it will provide the best service for passengers for the best value. In Middle Village, Queens, the MTA is progressing with the 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 refinement has reduced projected running times of the new line from 39 minutes to 32 minutes and has increased ridership projections to 160,000 per day, up 50,000 from the MTA’s prior estimate. IBX’s projected annual ridership is higher than the current ridership of any other light rail system in the country at 48 million riders — the next largest is Los Angeles at 46 million riders per year.
Light Rail was determined to offer the best service to riders at the best value to the MTA, with about 70 percent of projected IBX riders transferring within the MTA system. Station locations were selected based on public feedback, ridership projections, ability for riders to transfer to other parts of the MTA network, constructability, and spacing.
Funding
The project design phase will be principally funded through $45 million secured by Governor Hochul in New York State’s 2025 budget and the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan. An additional $15 million was awarded to the MTA by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, which will fund a corridor assessment in support of the design phase. USDOT has also provided $1 million to fund innovative finance expert services for the project. The total estimated cost of the IBX project is $5.5 billion, with 50 percent of the total funding for the project secured by Governor Hochul in the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan.
Since 2023, the MTA has hosted ten open houses attended by nearly 1,000 community members along the route to raise awareness and gather feedback. The MTA also held pop-up outreach at 10 subway stations across the IBX corridor speaking with 1,300 members of the public and over 250 businesses. Every quarter, the MTA hosts a virtual community council on the project with elected officials, community groups and community boards.
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