The Interborough Express line will be built along the existing, LIRR-owned Bay Ridge Branch and CSX-owned Fremont Secondary, a 14-mile freight line that extends from Jackson Heights, Queens down to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. It will create a new transit option for close to 900,000 residents of the neighborhoods along the route, along with 260,000 people who work in Brooklyn and Queens. It will connect with up to 17 different subway lines, as well as Long Island Rail Road, with end-to-end travel times anticipated at less than 32 minutes. Daily weekday ridership is estimated at 160,000.

Using the existing rail infrastructure means the Interborough Express can be built more quickly and efficiently. It will also preserve the Bay Ridge Branch’s use as a freight line, providing an opportunity to connect to the Port Authority’s Cross-Harbor Freight Project. The MTA has awarded the design and engineering contract and that work has begun. The public will be able to weigh in on the draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Fall of 2026.

Stay tuned for more RPA research, community engagement, and advocacy around this project for years to come.

RPA’s Triboro Line is Now the IBX

Video produced in December 2025 by Ben Oldenburg; RPA will update once design is complete

History

A Gift to the Region: RPA’s Triboro Line is Now the Interborough Express

For 30 years, RPA has advocated for the conversion of an underused freight line into a new surface transit service to connect the outer boroughs.

Research

The Triboro

Transit for the Boroughs

The New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx are home to 6.6 million people. Many of them are poorly served by the city’s century-old, Manhattan-centric transit system.

Action

RPA's Statement Regarding the Interborough Express in the State of the State

New York Governor Kathy Hochul directed the MTA to begin an environmental impact statement for Inter-Borough Express which encompasses most of the Brooklyn and Queens portions of the Triboro proposal.

read our statement