NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Plans are moving forward to turn a lightly used freight line in Brooklyn and Queens into the city's newest transit line, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.
Studies date back decades on turning the line into a new transit link, which would form a semi-circle from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens.
If done as planned, the Interborough Express would connect New Yorkers with 17 subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. Other neighborhoods involved include Sunset Park, Borough Park, Kensington, Midwood, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Lots, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Ridgewood, Middle Village, Maspeth and Elmhurst.
MTA
Potential connections would include the 2, 3, 4, 7, A, B, C, D, E, F, J, L, M, N, Q, R and Z lines on the city's subways.
Hochul announced Thursday that a feasibility study is all set, and an environmental study comes next. The yearlong study indicated that it would feasible for the Interborough plan to move forward as it stands.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal Annex. Governor Kathy Hochul, joined by Janno Lieber, Chair and CEO of the MTA, and elected leaders, announces the completion of a feasibility study by AECOM to convert existing freight lines between Brooklyn and Queens to create the Interborough Express.Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
"Is it bus rapid transit? Is it light rail? Is it heavy rail? What are the options? We don't have those answers today. But we know we have a path for it," said Hochul.
Nearly 90,000 riders would use the line daily, Hochul said. The study also indicated that 7 out of 10 people served by the line would be from communities of color.
The governor first teased a revival of the plan at her State of the State address earlier this month.
An original plan from transit advocates had included an extension into the Bronx — but that's been left out. A key part of the plan, though, would allow not just mass transit, but freight on the line.
Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
"The benefit will be to get more trucks and cars off the roads. Something that we know if better for our environment," said Hochul.
Officials have estimated a construction timeline of 3-5 years. Travel time from end-to-end of the express would be 40 minutes.
