MTA's record $68B spending plan focused on maintenance, LIRR accessibility, new cars, electrification

Accessibility upgrades at several Long Island Rail Road stations, groundwork for the future electrification of tracks to Yaphank, and enough new trains to retire the LIRR's 40-year-old fleet of M3 cars are all part of a five-year, $68.4 billion infrastructure spending plan released by the MTA on Wednesday.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials don't yet know how they'll pay for most of the plan, which focuses primarily on maintaining, rather than expanding, the existing transit system. Even as the transit agency wrestles with a projected $15 billion funding gap in its current capital budget created by Gov. Kathy Hochul's pause on congestion pricing, the MTA's chief said further investment is needed in a century-old system that, in many places, has "been left untouched and allowed to continue to decay."

"If the MTA system is going to survive, let alone grow and prosper, we're going to need to deal with that stuff," MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at a Queens news conference where he unveiled the plan's price tag. "We get that $68 billion is a big number. But I'm confident that it's the right number."

The plan will go before the MTA Board for a vote on Sept. 25, then to a state review board for final approval by Oct. 1, according to agency officials. 

The LIRR stands to get $6.05 billion, or about 9%, of the budget, with the biggest allocation — about $1.6 billion — going to the purchase of new rail cars. The 160 new M9-A cars would be enough to finally replace the railroad's 100 1980s-era M3 cars, which break down about seven times more often than newer trains, MTA officials said. The railroad also would purchase 40 "dual-mode" locomotives, which can operate on both electrified third rail power and on diesel, as well as diesel passenger coaches and work locomotives, LIRR president Robert Free said.

Several LIRR stations would be in line for upgrades under the plan, including Cold Spring Harbor, Port Washington, Floral Park, Patchogue and Mets-Willets Point, which would finally be made accessible for riders with disabilities. 

Released every five years, the capital program previously has funded big-ticket efforts like the LIRR’s Third Track and the construction of Grand Central Madison. It again includes plans to expand the transit network, including through a $2.75 billion commitment for the design and construction of the Interborough Express, a new light-rail system linking Brooklyn and Queens, with a connection at the LIRR’s East New York station.

The plan also includes $800 million to study and potentially begin work on electrifying the LIRR’s Main Line from Ronkonkoma to Yaphank and to make unspecified improvements to the Port Jefferson and Montauk branches.

By not specifically addressing the potential to electrify the Port Jefferson branch, transportation advocate Larry Penner said the MTA is "punting" on a project that has been high on Long Island officials' priority lists for decades.

"Basically, if you're on the Port Jefferson branch, you're left stranded at the station, [as MTA officials] kick the can down the road another five years," Penner said in an interview.

Lieber said the MTA will "look at all" proposals to expand capacity on LIRR branches and will not "favor one over the other."

To address fare evasion, which costs the agency about $700 million a year, the MTA is proposing to spend $1.1 billion to install modern fare gates at 150 subway stations, replacing older turnstiles.

But how to pay for it?

MTA officials said they expect to be able to fund roughly half the plan by issuing bonds and through federal grants — leaving a roughly $33 billion budget gap that likely would require a new dedicated revenue stream from the state.

In a statement, Hochul said she will "fight to secure as much funding as possible" for the plan.

"That includes pressuring Washington to deliver additional infrastructure dollars and working with our partners in the legislature and City Hall to determine priorities and capacity during the upcoming budget negotiations," Hochul said.

Lieber said he expects funding for the plan to be addressed in the State Legislature's next budget. He expressed confidence that Hochul will come through on funding, even though she still hasn't figured out how to make the MTA whole after nixing a congestion pricing plan that the MTA was relying on to fund $15 billion in spending in its 2020-24 capital program.

The new plan assumes Hochul will make good on her promise to fund the remainder of the current plan, meaning that no projects included in it would have to be deferred to the new plan.

"I know that she understands the importance of what we're trying to do here, because the success of the transit system is totally intertwined with the success and affordability of the city and the region," Lieber said.

Transit advocates were less willing to give Hochul the benefit of the doubt.

"The problem is that with every day without congestion pricing, the amount Governor Hochul owes to the MTA for the current 2020-2024 capital plan grows," said Rachael Fauss, senior policy adviser for Reinvent Albany, a nonpartisan nonprofit group. "Governor Hochul’s transit math does not add up: The MTA cannot keep its system working without congestion pricing."

Congestion pricing, which would have charged most vehicles $15 for driving below 60th Street, would have generated $1 billion a year in tolls. Hochul has defended her decision to nix the plan, citing affordability concerns among New Yorkers, and vowed to come up with the money to fund all the remaining projects in the plan.

In a statement, Hochul spokesman John Lindsay said: “Gov. Hochul has stated repeatedly that she is committed to funding the MTA Capital Plan and is working with partners in government on funding mechanisms while congestion pricing is paused.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.