Transit Briefs: NYMTA, Metrolink/LOSSAN/Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, Metrolinx
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) releases its “Zoning for Accessibility: 2022-2023 Annual Report”; Metrolink, LOSSAN and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner partner to provide expanded customer options; and the operation of Metrolinx's Eglinton Crosstown LRT (ECLRT) may soon be in the hands of Ontario.
NYMTA
MTA on Nov. 6 released its “Zoning for Accessibility: 2022-2023 Annual Report,” detailing significant progress the agency has made in accessibility improvements across the transit system within the last year.
According to the report (download below), the agency’s Zoning for Accessibility (ZFA) program “requires some private developers to design their buildings to incorporate future station accessibility projects and provides incentives to build the improvements themselves at nearby MTA stations in exchange for a zoning bonus.” By helping the MTA achieve systemwide accessibility more efficiently, the agency says ZFA benefits all New Yorkers, particularly riders with mobility disabilities, seniors, parents of young children, and others who need accessible stations to use the transit system.
In just its second year, MTA says ZFA has spurred improvements at multiple stations, including construction at Queensboro Plaza Station in Queens and the 57th Street Station in Manhattan. Both projects are privately funded and constructed with an estimated completion in mid-2025. Construction at Queensboro Plaza Station couples an MTA capital initiative with a private developer to achieve two fully accessible street entrances to the station complex to create multiple accessibility points without requiring customers to cross heavily congested Queens Boulevard.
Since ZFA’s adoption by the New York City Council in October 2021, five total ZFA projects have been approved that will help make adjacent stations accessible:
- Beach 36th Street Station (A) in Queens: MTA secured an easement that will facilitate the construction of an elevator at the Manhattan-bound platform.
- Queensboro Plaza Station (7, N, W) in Queens: An easement and zoning bonus were approved at 25-01 Queens Plaza North for a future elevator and stair connecting the street to the station’s mezzanine level. Construction of these improvements are in progress with completion estimated by mid-2025.
- 57th Street Station (F) in Manhattan: The owners of 41 West 57th Street received a zoning bonus for providing street and platform elevators at the station. This project is currently under construction with estimated completion by mid-2025.
- 5th Avenue – 53rd Street Station (E, M) in Manhattan: MTA secured an easement at 665 Fifth Avenue for a future elevator connecting the street to the northbound and southbound platforms. Construction of the elevator shaft is currently underway.
- Union Street Station (R) in Brooklyn: MTA secured an easement at 204 4th Avenue for a future elevator and stairway connecting the street to the southbound platform.
“The MTA is using every possible strategy to make the subway system fully accessible, delivering projects five times faster than in the past,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The latest batch of stations moving forward under ZFA this year join four projects that were accelerated in 2022, the first year of the program, and the 67 stations already included as part of the current Capital Program’s historic $5 billion investment in accessibility.”
“The MTA continues its innovative approach by using programs like Zoning for Accessibility to deliver accessibility projects better, faster, and cheaper,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “Partnering with the City and the private sector has allowed us to get more done together as part of the MTA’s commitment to making the system accessible.
“Riders with disabilities, caregivers with strollers, visitors with luggage and many others will soon benefit from this partnership between the city, the MTA, and the private sector,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. “I am excited about the continued progress on these projects, particularly when they can provide redundant accessibility features, and proud of the team for pushing every opportunity for accessibility improvements.”
Metrolink/LOSSAN/Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
Beginning Nov. 6 Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner ticket holders with origin and destination stations between Los Angeles and Ventura can board either train service.
Metrolink, Southern California’s regional passenger rail service, recently announced that it has partnered with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service, to expand the existing codeshare program. This new expanded codeshare reciprocity will run as a pilot program currently slated to end June 30, 2024.
Customers with valid tickets for either rail service now have a total of 30 weekday Metrolink and Pacific Surfliner train options between Los Angeles and Ventura County, making train travel “even more convenient along Metrolink’s Ventura Line corridor.” There are 14 total trains for rail passengers through that corridor on Saturdays and Sundays. Previously, Metrolink Ventura County Line ticket holders could only ride select Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains between Los Angeles and Ventura.
Pacific Surfliner ticket holders are also able to board 30 Metrolink Antelope Valley Line weekday trains that operate between Union Station and the Burbank-Downtown Station, and another 24 that operate on Saturdays and Sundays.
“As a Ventura County resident and regular train rider, I am excited that we are now offering both Metrolink and Pacific Surfliner customers more flexibility,” Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle said. “Thank you to our LOSSAN and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner partners for building synergy between our services to deliver more convenient transit options for riders traveling between Ventura and Los Angeles. I hope we can build on this pilot program and extend similar benefits to riders traveling between Oceanside and Ventura, as we work to expand regional mobility like never before.”
Metrolinx
According to documents obtained by CTV News Toronto in a freedom of information request, officials suggest that Toronto City Council is considering an “indefinite deferral” of the operation of Metrolinx’s ECLRT due to the city’s “financial challenges.”
According to a CTV News Toronto report, the Doug Ford government is “facing the possibility of having to operate two major transit lines in Toronto if no further funding arrangements can be made.”
The suggestion, according to the report, was made in briefing notes presented to Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria in June when he was assigned the cabinet position.
“If there is not a new intergovernmental funding arrangement for transit, the province might have to consider different delivery options, including assuming operations of the ECLRT,” the documents read.
According to the CTV News Toronto report, a similar suggestion was made for the Finch West LRT, with the province acknowledging the city has said it would consider a deferral of operations “pending any new funding arrangement or fiscal framework with the province.”
As part of a 2021 agreement between the city and the province, “Toronto is expected to cover operating and maintenance costs for the Eglinton Crosstown and the Finch West LRTs.” The province would be responsible for “lifecycle maintenance costs” associated with the project, according to the report.
“Taking on the financial operating costs of these rail lines is a big ask. The TTC budgeted $60 million in operating money for the Eglinton Crosstown this year. With the delay in the line’s opening, the city said in August that it would use the 2023 funding to return TTC bus service to 99 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels,” CTV News Toronto reported.
At the time, according to the report, Mayor Olivia Chow said she “hopes council will find a way to maintain TTC service levels once the LRT is operational and in need of that funding.”
It’s unclear when the Eglinton Crosstown will open, with an update expected in the fall of 2023, according to Sarkaria’s transition binder.
According to the TTC’s 2023 budget report, it will cost about $106 million to operate both the Eglinton Crosstown and the Finch West LRT.
“Discussions between the province and the city are under way and ongoing,” said a city spokesperson, who did not specify what kind of financial arrangement would allow the city to take on these operational costs.
According to the CTV News report, Toronto is facing a $1.5 billion deficit, and both Chow and the premier have said the city’s financial situation is “not sustainable.”
The two governments are working on a “new deal” for ongoing funding, with a working group planning to submit a report on what this could mean by the end of November, according to the report, which adds that the city has been “adamant that no new taxes be adopted” and has also suggested that uploading the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway is being considered.
In recent weeks, the federal government has also agreed to come to the table.
A spokesperson for Sarkaria’s office said the province is “commited to maintaining a strong relationship with municipal partners, including the City of Toronto as we work to deliver the largest transit expansion in Canadian history.”
“It is critical that we work together with the city to deliver on priority transit projects like the Finch West and Eglinton Crosstown LRT for the thousands of commuters who will rely on it each and every day,” Dakota Brasier said in a statement.
“The working group is looking at solutions that support our shared objective of getting the LRT lines open as soon as possible.”
