New York City Transit President Andy Byford resigned on Jan. 23. Andy was hired in January 2018 to improve and transform New York City’s 116-year-old subway, North America’s largest, and he was doing just that. But he got fed up with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who thinks he’s in charge of running New York’s railways. Now, someone else will have to carry on—if they’re capable—and that remains to be seen.
The Jan. 15, 2020 New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority public hearing for its proposed federal fiscal year 2020 capital program of projects confirms there continues to be good news from Washington concerning real financial support. Several million commuters will see some of the benefits.
Commuters, transportation advocates, taxpayers and elected officials have good reason to be concerned about whether or not the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $51 billion, Five Year 2020-2024 Capital Plan is realistic or accurate.
The nation’s largest public transportation agency, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), on Oct. 25 issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) for one or more consultants to assist it with its Transformation Plan, described as “the first reorganization in more than half a century … that will position the agency to dramatically improve service, end project delays and cost overruns, and finally deliver the modern, reliable and efficient transportation system customers deserve.”
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Sept. 16 released a proposed $51.5 billion 2020-2024 capital investment plan it describes as “by far the highest in the MTA’s history, increasing spending on infrastructure by 70% over current levels.” MTA plans to invest more than $40 billion in New York City Transit subways and buses as well as make major investments in the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuter rail networks.
After roughly two years’ worth of delays, MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has taken the wraps off its new M-9 EMU (electric multiple-unit) commuter railcars. The first eight-car trainset departed Sept. 11 at 6:50 am from Huntington.
At a legislative hearing on Aug. 16, 2018, Gateway Program Development Corp Interim Executive Director John D. Porcari said, “There is no Plan B.” He was wrong. At the same hearing, this writer (as Chair of the Lackawanna Coalition, a New Jersey-based advocacy organization) outlined the “Plan B” that some rider-advocates had formulated and submitted, in the event that the entire $30 billion-plus Gateway program as currently proposed fails to attract sufficient funding. Porcari stuck to his story that the existing North River Tunnels are deteriorating so quickly that they constitute a disaster waiting to happen but, under his proposal, they would not be repaired until 2030 or some time shortly thereafter.
Sarah Feinberg, who served as U.S. Federal Railroad Administrator in the Obama Administration from 2015 to 2017, has been nominated by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to fill a vacancy on the NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.
Statistics released Feb. 22 by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) show that New York City Transit (NYCT) subway performance, bolstered by the Subway Action Plan and Save Safe Seconds Campaign, “continues its months-long trend of improvement, with the best on-time performance, and the fewest number of delays, that the system has seen in four years.” However, constrained funding will limit just how far these programs will carry improvements.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority will build four new stations in the East Bronx for Metro-North commuter rail service on the Northeast Corridor, after Governor Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal between the agency and Amtrak. But the deal hinges on a plan to postpone a bridge replacement that was called “beyond a state-of-good-repair” nearly a decade ago.
