MTA Moves Ahead With Interborough Express Design

MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

A long-discussed rail link between Brooklyn and Queens took a major step forward this summer after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a $166 million design contract for the Interborough Express.

The project, known as the IBX, would convert a little-used freight line into a 14-mile light rail corridor stretching from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens. The line would bypass Manhattan entirely, cutting end-to-end travel times to under 40 minutes and connecting riders to as many as 17 subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.

Gov. Kathy Hochul first directed the MTA to study the project in 2022. After reviewing alternatives, the agency selected light rail in 2023 as

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