{"id":343117,"date":"2026-09-10T19:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/343117\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:32:09","slug":"hurry-up-and-wait-mta-chair-says-ibx-wont-begin-moving-riders-for-at-least-five-years-even-as-design-phase-speeds-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/343117\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurry up and wait: MTA chair says IBX won\u2019t begin moving riders for at least five years, even as design phase speeds up"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Interborough Express (IBX<\/a>) \u2014 a new light rail line between Brooklyn and Queens \u2014 will take at least five years to complete, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said this week.<\/p>\n

The transit boss floated the rough timeline for building the IBX to reporters while dropping by a Wednesday evening pop-up event at the Queens Public Library\u2019s Ridgewood Branch with Gov. Kathy Hochul. The event was just one of dozens the MTA has held over the summer<\/a> to educate riders about the IBX, while collecting their feedback on the undertaking.<\/p>\n

Lieber emphasized that while riders will not be able to actually travel on the IBX for a number of years, the project\u2019s design phase, which began last summer,<\/a> is moving faster than expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is that we\u00a0have incredible speed on the design, which is half of the challenge is figuring out how to make everything fit, and to do the technology, and to make sure it impacts on people\u2019s lives and real estate as little as possible,\u201d Lieber said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re really\u00a0ahead of schedule on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The $5.5 billion project<\/a> includes the construction of 18 new stations, 17 of which will connect to existing subway stations, along 14 miles of barely-used freight tracks. It will also link riders to 50 bus routes and the Long Island Rail Road.<\/p>\n

Once it is completed, the IBX promises to move a projected 160,000 daily riders end-to-end, between Bay Ridge in Brooklyn and Jackson Heights in Queens, in just 32 minutes.
\n\"AA rendering of how one of the new stations along the proposed Interborough Express (IBX) light rail line will look.Image courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s office\n<\/p>\n

The light rail line would be the MTA\u2019s first and is intended to bring service to areas that have long been underserved by public transit, such as East Flatbush, Flatlands, and Maspeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Danny Pearlstein, director of communications and policy for the rider advocacy group Riders Alliance, said it is understandable that such a potentially transformative project could take many years to complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important is to understand what is happening at each step of the process,\u201d he said. \u201cFive years, in the abstract, is a long time to wait, but what we want to know is that each day within those five years, the project is moving forward in a reasonable way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questions remain for IBX project<\/p>\n

Lieber\u2019s comments came as the state-run MTA and the governor\u2019s office released a fresh batch of renderings<\/a> visualizing how IBX stations at New Utrecht and Remsen Avenues in Brooklyn could look. The images show sleek modern stations outfitted with multiple elevators, digital displays, and easy connections to the subway system.<\/p>\n

The state also said it would be releasing the draft environmental impact statement for the project, which aims to show how it will affect surrounding communities, before the end of this year \u2014 sooner than it originally planned to unveil the document.<\/p>\n

However, while the project is already halfway funded through the MTA\u2019s current $68 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan<\/a> \u2014 to the tune of $2.75 billion<\/a> \u2014 it is not yet clear where the remaining dollars will come from.<\/p>\n

Hochul said she originally proposed the IBX during the tenure of Democratic former President Joe Biden, who was more likely to fund it with federal dollars. But now under Republican President Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Congress, federal funding appears far less likely to be forthcoming.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Hochul said she is holding out hope that will change if the Democrats retake control of Congress in November.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we take the majority in the House, we take the Senate, we take back the White House in two years, then I feel confident the money will come from the federal government,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

Even if that federal funding does not end up coming through, Hochul pledged to get the project fully financed.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to be around for a number of years, and I\u2019m committed to getting it done,\u201d she said. \u201cIf the state has to step up in a bigger way, the state will step up in a bigger way. This is a critically important project to me, the people of these two boroughs, and a statement of our priorities. I\u2019ll make those investments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The open funding question is likely related to the open funding question, Pearlstein said. He noted, however, that not having to go through the feds could help the project move along faster.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state\u2019s flexibility and willingness to proceed without federal funding should shave time off the construction,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time, it shouldn\u2019t be that way. We should be able to have federal funding and have a project that is completed expeditiously at the same time. We deserve that much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Interborough Express (IBX) \u2014 a new light rail line between Brooklyn and Queens \u2014 will take at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[3932,4803,4804,20178,1607,141,78623,31847,9,24,63,122,124,123,615],"class_list":["post-343117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-gov-kathy-hochul","tag-ibx","tag-interborough-express","tag-light-rail","tag-long-island-rail-road","tag-mta","tag-mta-capital-plan-2025-2029","tag-mta-chair-and-ceo-janno-lieber","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-subway"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}