| Interborough Express | |
| Type: | Light rail |
| Status: | Planning |
| Locale: | Brooklyn, Queens |
| Start: | Roosevelt Avenue |
| End: | Brooklyn Army Terminal |
| Stations: | 19 |
| Routes: | New York City Subway |
| Owner: | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Tracklength Mi: | 14 |
The Interborough Express (IBX) is a proposed 14miles 24/7 light rail line in New York City. As proposed, the line would operate on dedicated tracks within the existing right-of-way from the Bay Ridge Branch and Fremont Secondary to connect Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and Jackson Heights, Queens., the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) estimated that the project would be operational in 2027.[1]
The Regional Plan Association originally proposed the Triboro RX along this route in 1996[2] and again in 2012.[3] In mid-October 2019, the MTA announced that it would study the feasibility of restoring passenger service on the Bay Ridge Branch portion of the route.[4] On January 23, 2020, the MTA Board awarded a $1.3 million contract to study the feasibility of restoring passenger service to this section to AECOM.[5] In November 2021, Acting MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said that money from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could be used to fund the completion of the Bay Ridge Branch project.[6]
In early January 2022, as part of her State of the State address, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state would move forward with the Bay Ridge Branch Line by conducting an environmental study on the IBX.[7] The study would consider whether the line should be heavy rail (rapid transit or regional rail), light rail, or bus rapid transit.[8] [9] A feasibility study was also completed on January 20, 2022.[10] [11] [12] Governor Hochul also announced that she had directed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to complete an environmental review for the Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel for freight.[13] Hochul announced in her January 2023 address that the project would proceed as a light rail corridor.[14] According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the route had to run along Metropolitan Avenue and 69th Street in Middle Village, Queens, to avoid a narrow tunnel under All Faiths Cemetery;[15] [16] the cemetery's superintendent said in early 2024 that the MTA had never contacted the cemetery.[17] Opponents of the street-running segment said it would have made IBX vehicles vulnerable to delays, since trains would be restricted to and run in mixed traffic.[18]
Virtual town hall meetings for the IBX began in August 2023,[19] followed by in-person town halls that November.[20] At the time, the MTA expected that the project would be finished in 2027 at a cost of $5.5 billion. In her 2024 State of the State address, Kathy Hochul announced that formal design and engineering work would begin later in the year.[21] The MTA allocated $2.75 billion in funding for the project in its 2025–2029 Capital Plan, accounting for half the estimated cost;[22] pre-construction work was still underway in late 2024.[23] That October, the MTA announced that it planned to dig a tunnel underneath All Faiths Cemetery to avoid street running.[24] The MTA simultaneously announced that it would begin the planning process for the Interborough Express after it received $67 million from the federal and state governments,[25] and it opened a request for proposal for the IBX's design and environmental review.[26] [27] At the time, the preliminary design process was expected to take two years.
The IBX is planned to be built as a light rail line. Reasons for the light rail choice include faster service, easier construction—mostly fitting in existing right of way, availability of off-the-shelf rolling stock, and a lower overall cost that is estimated at $5.5 billion, or about $48,000 per expected daily rider. Proposed headways are 5 minutes during peak hours and 10 minutes at other times. Freight use would continue, requiring separated tracks.[28] End-to-end travel times are expected to be 40 minutes, and weekday ridership is initially projected to be 115,000. The route would connect up to 17 subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.
As of 2024, the preliminary stations are: Roosevelt Avenue, Grand Avenue, Eliot Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Wilson Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Sutter Avenue, Livonia Avenue, Linden Boulevard, Remsen Avenue, Utica Avenue, Flatbush Avenue–Nostrand Avenue, East 16 Street, McDonald Avenue, New Utrecht Avenue, 8 Avenue, 4 Avenue, and Brooklyn Army Terminal.[29] [22]