This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
10/5/2023
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has outlined its long-term vision to rebuild, improve and expand the New York City region's $1.5 trillion transit system over the next 20 years.
The MTA’s 20-Year Needs Assessment examines the system’s infrastructure needs. It reveals both challenges and opportunities for the future of the transportation in the region and lays out an approach to rebuilding the MTA system for another century of service, MTA officials said in a press release.
The assessment also includes a comparative evaluation of potential expansion projects that could be pursued if the system’s rebuilding and improvement needs are met and analyzes potential projects, comparing benefits and costs. The document differs from previous assessments by providing a comprehensive view of the system's needs rather than constraining it to meet an arbitrary budget target. As a result, it will be used as a foundation for prioritizing capital spending in the 2025-2029 capital plan.
The assessment examined nearly 6 million component assets that comprise the MTA. A few suggestions for areas of rebuilding and improvement include:
• New York City Transit: replacement of aging substations and installing communications based train control (CBTC) for 90% of trips by 2045, which will improve reliability, shorten wait times and reduce delays; reconstruct obsolete rail shops and yards, including the Livonia Maintenance Facility; and continued investments in Americans with Disability Act accessibility projects.
• Metro-North Railroad: reconstruct the Grand Central Train Shed, Park Avenue Tunnel and Park Avenue Viaduct, vital to 98% of Metro-North service; protect the Hudson Line from increasing climate threats; and additional structural support for and maintenance of platforms at 19 Harlem Line stations.
• Long Island Rail Road: rehabilitate Atlantic Avenue Tunnel structures; replace or rehabilitate 60 to 100 bridges and 11 to 23 viaducts; and upgrade 50 miles of signal systems.