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3/24/2023
Transportation planners commissioned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have abandoned plans to build the AirTrain system to LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
Engineering and construction firms studied the proposed AirTrain system alongside 13 other options for improving airport transit, concluding that it would take at least 12 years to build and cost as much as $7 billion to extend service to LaGuardia, the New York Times reported.
Instead, the firms recommended bus service as the most practical way to improve transit connections between the airport and Manhattan. Upgrading an existing bus connection to a Queens subway line and creating a direct shuttle service between the airport and Astoria would cost just $500 million, the NYTimes reported. The bus service is expected to attract more riders compared to a rail connection.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ordered a review of the rail plan a few months into her tenure that began in August 2021, accepted the recommendation; PANYNJ's board is expected to give the bus idea the green light within three months.
The AirTrain plan was a "pet project" of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was criticized for ignoring feasible alternatives, according to the newspaper.