With a budget deal now reached in Albany, the MTA’s not wasting any time getting to work delivering the new $68.4 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says it will be funded in full, and that promise has allowed us to kickstart projects like new subway signals on portions of the A and C lines, the next phase of work on the Grand Central Trainshed that supports Metro-North service, and accessibility and station improvements on the Long Island Rail Road.
These upgrades – and the many others included in the 2025-2029 plan – are going to have a huge and direct benefit on the lives of New Yorkers in ways that they recognize.
Modern subway signals mean less time sitting in tunnels because of that announcement riders hate to hear: signal trouble ahead. New rolling stock means less frequent interruptions on your commute from five decade-old subway cars being pulled out of service with mechanical issues. And all the core infrastructure projects mean there are going to be fewer instances where a power substation blows up and takes down an entire subway line for hours or even days, as happened recently.
In short, the new Capital Plan will protect our ability to continue delivering the same high-quality level of service riders have come to expect from the MTA in 2025. Subway on-time performance is the best it’s been in a dozen years, with more than 84% of weekday trains meeting schedules.
Buses are picking up speed too, thanks not only to congestion pricing – which I’ll remind folks is a huge success – but also because of the cameras we’re now using on 36 routes to help keep bus lanes and busways clear. And soon, the Queens Bus Network Redesign will transform trips in the City’s most bus-reliant borough.
But while our focus is achieving a true State of Good Repair systemwide, we’re not forgetting about expansion. The Interborough Express is going to connect Brooklyn and Queens from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights using an existing 14-mile-long Right of Way. It’s just good business sense to leverage what’s already there, when possible, rather than building new infrastructure all the time.
At the new MTA, we’re also committed to cost savings. Our operating budget is 3% lower today than it was before the pandemic, and the 2025-2029 Capital Plan is actually 4% cheaper in real dollars than its predecessor even as we operate a ton more service – especially on the commuter railroads and subways. The MTA transit system – the linchpin of our economy and our way of life – is heading in the right direction.
Janno Lieber is MTA chair and CEO.
