31 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Opinion in Streetsblog New York, 3/14/21:

 

 

    OPINION: A Tiny Federal Rule Change Just Gave NYC the Power to Build Real Rail to Airports  

 

 

Helping travelers access New York airports should be easy in a city with so much transit. Yet getting to JFK and Newark require a transfer from the subway or commuter rail lines to a people mover, which discourages too many travelers from using public transit.

 

Opinion

[KevinKorell]

News Nation USA, 7/20/21:

 

 

  $1.2 Billion AirTrain to La Guardia Gets Green Light From U.S.

 

By 2025, travelers who use La Guardia Airport may no longer have to fight New York City's notorious traffic to get there.

 

Story

[KevinKorell]

Centre for Aviation, 8/18/21:

 

 

     New York LaGuardia airport: AirTrain in danger of cancellation    

 

There is never a dull day in politics, nor in the air transport business. In New York the two just came together into what could be a disaster movie.

 

No sooner had the FAA belatedly given the thumbs-up to the scheme to build a more-expensive-by-the-day ‘AirTrain’ people mover between public transport stations and La Guardia Airport than its biggest mover and shaker, the state Governor, Andrew Cuomo, stated he would resign over numerous political and personal scandals.

 

Details

[KevinKorell]

New York, NY Post, 9/7/21:

 

 

 

    Transit advocates urge Hochul to scrap LaGuardia AirTrain  

 

 

 

Transit advocates are putting on a full-court press to persuade Gov. Kathy Hochul to derail the $2.1 billion pet project pushed by disgraced predecessor Andrew Cuomo — building the controversial “wrong-way” AirTrain between LaGuardia Airport and eastern Queens.

 

 

Full story

 

While I agree that the AirTrain as proposed would be a roundabout way to go, why is everyone thinking so Manhattan-centric?    What is out of the way for Manhattan is convenient if coming from the other direction, namely Flushing on the 7 subway train or Port Washington on the LIRR.    A shame it cannot serve a bigger hub like Jamaica on the JFK AirTrain.   I would be in favor of the line continuing to Jamaica if at all possible. That would also open up inter-airport travel between the two Queens airports.   Meanwhile, a more direct route to the airport, such as extension of the N train beyond Astoria would make sense if NIMBY's don't stand in its way.

[CNJRoss]

New York Post, 10/4/21
 

Hochul pulls plug on Cuomo’s $2.1B ‘wrong-way’ AirTrain

 

 

Gov. Kathy Hochul has told the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to find an alternative to disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $2.1 billion “AirTrain” pet project between LaGuardia Airport and eastern Queens.

 

“I have asked the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport,” Hochul said in a statement Monday afternoon — hours before elected officials representing the impacted section of Queens were set to hold a press conference against the boondoggle. 

 

SNIP 

 

“I don’t feel obligated to accept what I have inherited,” Hochul added later Monday at a press conference in Brooklyn. “There were alternatives on the table that even the FAA said that people were saying people were not looking at as close as they should.”

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

Railway Age, 10/7/21

 

Hochul Walks LaGuardia AirTrain Tightrope

 

The proposed elevated fixed-guideway APM (automated people mover) system would link LaGuardia Airport in New York with the MTA New York City Transit 7 Line subway and the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Port Washington Branch at Mets-Willets Point in Queens.

 

 

After only six weeks in office, New York state’s new chief executive, Gov. Kathy Hochul, is experiencing a test of her skills to walk the political tightrope; an essential task for any politician, especially in this part of the country.

 

The issue is the proposed LaGuardia AirTrain, a rail link that would connect with the MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and the 7-line (Flushing Line) of the subway system and serve as a shuttle taking riders to LaGuardia Airport. The project was well on its way to final approval, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) having given it a green signal earlier this year. But disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo had backed the project, and now that he is gone, it could be a whole new ball game. Elected officials and community groups in Queens, near the airport and the AirTrain’s proposed route, still oppose the project as strongly as Cuomo had supported it. Under Hockul, they hope to drive the final nails into its coffin, and some of them have asked a court to reverse the FAA’s approval.

 

. . .  Hochul’s statement, which appears on the state website: “New Yorkers deserve world-class transportation to world-class airports. I have asked the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport.” She concluded: “We must ensure that our transportation projects are bold, visionary, and serve the needs of New Yorkers. I remain committed to working expeditiously to rebuild our infrastructure for the 21st century and to create jobs—not just at LaGuardia, but at all of our airports and transit hubs across New York.”

 

More here.

[KevinKorell]

The City,    10/13/21:
 

    Mets Station Accessibility Project Up In the Air as AirTrain Derails 

 
 
 
 
With plans to build an AirTrain terminal at Willets Point benched, accessibility advocates hope that long-delayed upgrades to the Long Island Rail Road station there will finally be on deck.

 
Story is here.
 
Cross-posted in Stations forum and LaGuardia AirTrain threads.

[KevinKorell]

Second Avenue Sagas, 10/14/21:

 

   LAGUARDIA AIRTRAIN ON ‘PAUSE’ AS HOCHUL GEARS UP TO PULL THE PLUG ON CUOMO-ERA VANITY PROJECT       

 

 

The much-maligned Laguardia AirTrain may be on its last legs as the Port Authority has paused work on the project following an order by Governor Kathy Hochul to re-examine the plan. The decision doesn’t quite kill former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s crowning symbolism of his top-down, ‘me-first-and-only’ approach to transit planning, but facing lawsuits and criticism on all sides, the days are clearly numbered for the Willets Point-based backwards airtrain, as they should be.

 

Continue

[CNJRoss]

RT&S 10/14/21

 

The first rail line to LaGuardia Airport now on hold after pressure from politicians, environmentalists

 

 

LaGuardia Airport in New York is part of an exclusive group in the U.S.

 

It is one of a handful of major airports which do not have rail service.  LaGuardia is not going to join a much bigger group any time soon, as plans for a monorail system have been put on hold.

 

SNIP

 

. . .  The Port Authority said it was undertaking a thorough review of potential alternative mass transit options to LaGuardia Airport.

 

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

RT&S, 3/25/22

 

Could Interborough Express and AirTrain connect en route to LaGuardia?

 

 

Two New York City rail projects could come together to establish one connection to LaGuardia Airport.

 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Brooklyn-Queens train line could intersect with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s AirTrain to the airport. The Port Authority is trying to come up with alternatives to the AirTrain after receiving negative feedback from officials. Still, the option is among a group of 14 alternatives. The Port Authority will ask the public to weigh in by hosting two public workshops.

 

The proposed Interborough Express would use an existing 14-mile rail line between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and western Queens near LaGuardia.

 

Two of the Port Authority’s alternatives could intersect with the Interborough Express at Jackson Heights. Another possibility is an overlap in Astoria.

Continue here.

 

Cross-posted:  

LaGuardia AirTrain Proposed

NYCT/Gov Hochul pitches new Brooklyn-Queens rail service