Kawasaki Heavy Industries-built R188 subway which has been undergoing test runs on the 7 Flushing line.
Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
A busy Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board last Wednesday morning voted to approve the proposed 2015-2019 Capital Program, according to an MTA spokesman.
The $32 billion program is designed to renew, enhance and expand the MTA network, the agency announced this week, including investments to protect the safety and reliability of transit service, improve service quality and the customer experience and expand the network with new lines and connections.
MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast called the Capital Program the MTA’s “single most important effort,” and vital to the region’s economy.
“The MTA network is a $1 trillion asset, and it needs constant investment so it can serve everyone who relies on it now and can grow to serve more people in the future,” he said.
The largest element of the program is safety and reliability projects worth $22.2 billion to renew the MTA’s transportation network, including new subway cars, Staten Island Railway cars, commuter railroad cars and buses; improving tracks, signals, power supplies, stations and support structures; renewing and enhancing the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels; and installing Positive Train Control on commuter railroads and Communications-Based Train Control on subways for safer and more reliable service.
The Capital Program also proposes investing $4.3 billion in new technology, communications systems and railroad infrastructure to enhance the MTA and benefit customers throughout the region. Additionally, the program includes $5.5 billion to expand the MTA network through major investments, such as $1.5 billion to begin the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway from 96th Street to 125th Street, $2.8 billion to complete funding for the East Side Access project that will bring the Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central Terminal and $743 million to begin the Penn Access project to bring Metro-North New Haven Line service into Penn Station and build four new stations in the Bronx.
The agency has identified $16.9 billion worth of funding sources for the proposed program, including more than $6 billion in federal funding, $6 billion in bonding and $3 billion in funding from MTA sources. The agency also said that it will work with its funding partners and other stakeholders to develop proposals to bridge the $15.2 billion funding gap.
The portions of the Capital Program that cover New York City Transit, the LIRR, Metro-North Railroad and the MTA Bus Company, including the network expansion projects, total $29 billion and were submitted to the state Capital Program Review Board this week. The remaining $3.1 billion of the program funds MTA Bridges and Tunnels projects and does not require approval by the board.
By Michael V. Cusenza
