Top LIRR priorities for 20 years include tunnel fix, 340 new rail cars, bridge maintenance

Rebuilding the Long Island Rail Road’s tunnel to Brooklyn, buying 340 new LIRR rail cars and repainting dozens of the railroad’s most worn and rusty bridges are all on the MTA’s to-do list, according to its 20-Year Needs Assessment.

But the future of other infrastructure expansion projects long sought by Long Island residents and officials, including the electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch, remains challenged by high costs and questionable benefits, according to the document released Wednesday.

The list — last published in 2015 — sets the MTA’s priorities for its next five-year capital program, which begins in 2025 and will be funded, in part, by new toll revenue from the agency’s congestion pricing plan, expected to take effect next spring. But Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials emphasized that, unlike past assessments, the latest is not limited by how much money likely will be available to spend.

“Previous 20-year assessments … have started with a budget number, and basically fit the needs into that number,” Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction and Development, said at a Tuesday news briefing previewing the report. “This is not a budget-constrained document. It is an effort to look at the system’s true needs over the next 20 years.”

The report “helps lay out what the money from congestion pricing in this capital plan will support in the future,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, which includes the LIRR Commuter Council. She added it addresses the need to protect the transit system -- which the MTA estimates includes $1.5 trillion in assets -- from extreme weather events, like last Friday’s storm, which inundated subways with floodwater.

“These State-of-Good-Repair projects may sound boring, but when they fail, we see just how important they are to our daily lives,” Daglian said in a statement.

At the top of the MTA’s infrastructure priorities for the Long Island Rail Road are:

Fixing the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, which links the LIRR to Brooklyn, “through structural rehabilitation, waterproofing and enhanced lighting, fire safety, and security systems”;

Purchasing up to 340 new railcars to expand the LIRR’s fleet, swap out its oldest trains and replace antiquated diesel locomotives with more environmentally friendly “dual-mode” locomotives that can also run on electric power;

Repainting or waterproofing several LIRR bridges — more than half of which are in poor or marginal condition — and rehabilitating nine LIRR viaducts;

Replacing or upgrading 72 LIRR electric substations;

Modernizing 50 miles of signals;

Installing “easy to read digital screen and audio announcement” systems at all stations;

Completing capacity improvements at Jamaica that will speed up train travel through the busy hub;

Making all LIRR stations accessible for people with disabilities.

Below the core initiatives in the report was an analysis of the costs and benefits of several expansion projects under consideration at the MTA. The projects were scored in eight categories, including the number of riders that would benefit, the potential to reduce crowding and the reduction of miles traveled.

Which projects move forward in the coming years won’t be determined until the MTA Board adopts the capital program next year, officials said.

Port Jeff mayor questions analysis

“Port Jefferson branch capacity improvements,” which would include the long-discussed electrification of the line, scored well in two categories — regional accessibility and its location largely within the LIRR’s existing property.

It scored poorly in the categories of ridership — serving fewer than 28,000 daily passengers by 2045 — and its potential to benefit people in low-income areas. The MTA estimates the effort would cost $3.1 billion.

The Port Jefferson project received an “average” score, in part, because, while “it does reduce auto usage a fair amount” and relieve local crowding, it does not provide any new rail connections nor “reduce crowding systemwide as much as most other projects.”

Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow questioned the analysis, because she said many residents near the branch drive out of their way to Ronkonkoma because service is faster and more frequent there.

“The difference is electrification . . . With electrification comes a faster commute, an easier commute, and a cleaner commute,” Sheprow said.

Samuel Chu, the Suffolk County representative on the MTA Board, said rather than being discouraged by some of the low scores, he viewed the analysis as a blueprint for how to address some projects’ shortcomings and make them more attractive to decision-makers.

“I don’t see this 20-Year Needs Assessment as a tool to prevent the project from happening. I see it as a great way to start the conversation on how we make the project happen,” said Chu, who mentioned as one possibility working with local governments to change zoning laws near the branch to potentially boost projected ridership.

For years, the conversations around the project has been “’Oh, it’s expensive,’” Chu said. “That’s been the whole basis of the conversation … I think this gets us further down the road in the conversation.”

NYC projects score highest

Other LIRR projects scored worse, including the capacity improvements between Speonk and Montauk, the addition of new stations in Elmhurst and Sunnyside, and the reactivation of the dormant Lower Montauk branch in Queens, which would cost $4.2 billion.

The projects that scored highest were those the MTA already has advanced, including the development of the Interborough Express light rail line linking Brooklyn and Queens — with a connection to the LIRR’s East New York station — and further extension of the Second Avenue subway line.

MTA officials cautioned the public against making too many assumptions about the likelihood of a project being pursued based on how it scored in the report.

“We’re 15 months away from when the MTA Board adopts the capital program. We wanted to start the discussion with as much informed analysis as possible,” MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said. “It’s meant to allow stakeholders, including Long Island stakeholders . . . to engage on what ought to be prioritized in the capital program. That’s really the goal of this.”

The MTA’s packaging of its priorities drew both praise and criticism from public officials, experts and advocates.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, in a statement, said the use of metrics and data-driven performance analyses was a “very welcome and sorely needed step.” But he also chided the MTA for leaving out “important details.”

The report, DiNapoli said, “does not address what projects will reduce the need for repairs or improve service or increase the transit system’s resilience and does not report the cost of these projects.”

David Mack, the Nassau representative on the MTA Board, was happy to see the plans to adequately address crumbling LIRR bridges after years of minor patch jobs.

“Everything is a temporary repair,” Mack said. “It’s an eyesore and it has to be done right. Finish the job.”

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.