RPA's Triboro Line is now the MTA's Interborough Express
RPA’s Third Regional Plan, “A Region at Risk” called for the construction of the “Triboro Line” to connect the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. In 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul adapted it as the MTA’s new “Interborough Express.”
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The newly slimmed down 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 would 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 would 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 40 minutes. Daily weekday ridership is estimated at 115,000.
Using the existing rail infrastructure means the Interborough Express could be built more quickly and efficiently. It would 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. Stay tuned for more RPA research, community engagement, and advocacy around this project for years to come.
The video below details our Triboro Line plan, but we’ll be updating it soon to explain the new Interborough Express line.
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.