File Photo
The RBRL was eventually shuttered in 1962.
By Michael V. Cusenza
U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) anAn advocacy group seeking to restore service on the long-defunct Rockaway Beach Rail Line recently called out the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for indicating that reactivating the line would cost between $6 and $8 billion.
“In 2019 the MTA released their Rockaway Beach Branch reactivation feasibility study. The study found that restoring service on the line is possible but their cost estimate of between $6 and $8 billion looked wildly out of line with similar projects,” the group said.
Courtesy of QueensLink
A rendition of the QueensLink.
QueensLink commissioned its own study by hiring the transportation firm TEMS to determine why the numbers seemed so high.
“The official cost estimate of $8.1 billion was inflated using non-standard contingency and Year of Expenditure Escalation calculations (based on FTA guidelines) and higher Professional Service fees. A more accurate estimate puts the cost at $3.4-$3.7 billion,” according to the QueensLink Corridor Analysis. “Based on similar projects, notably the Purple Line outside of Washington, D.C. and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in New Jersey, over the course of the lifetime of the project the QueensLink could: create up to 150,000 new jobs (short term construction and long term growth), create up to $13 billion in personal income from new economic opportunities, and create up to $75 billion in property value along the route.”
The RBRL was put into service in the late 19th century under the control of the Long Island Rail Road and connected Rockaway and southern Queens with Rego Park, provided area residents with expedient access to other parts of the city, and 40-minute commutes to Midtown Manhattan from the Rockaway Peninsula. In the early 1960s, parts of the railroad service were condensed, sectioned off, and it eventually closed in 1962.
