Panel OKs MTA's $27 billion capital program

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) $27 billion 2015-2019 Capital Program has received final approval from the Capital Plan Review Board, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday.

The program's passage marks the largest investment in the agency's infrastructure in state history and paves the way for five years' worth of vital investments aimed at renewing, enhancing and expanding the agency's network, MTA officials said in a press release.

This year, New York state committed $8.3 billion in funding to the capital plan.

Projects in the program include:
• purchasing 1,450 subway cars;
• building four new MTA Metro-North Railroad stations in undeserved areas in the Bronx;
• bringing Metro-North service to Penn Station;
• beginning the Second Avenue Subway extension to East Harlem; and
• adding a second track along 18 miles of the Long Island Rail Road's line.

"By investing in the most robust transportation plan in state history, we are reimagining the MTA and ensuring a safer, more reliable and more resilient public transportation network for tomorrow," said Cuomo.