The Interborough Express (IBX), a new light rail line that will connect Brooklyn and Queens, officially advanced into its design and engineering phase.
Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Aug. 1 said a joint venture between Jacobs and HDR has been selected to lead the work, which is expected to begin this summer.
The 14-mile line, which will run from Sunset Park in Brooklyn to Jackson Heights in Queens, will create 19 new stations and provide connections to 17 subway lines, 50 bus routes and two Long Island Rail Road stations. The project connects historically underserved communities in Brooklyn and Queens to the subway, bus and Long Island Railroad while significantly reducing travel times between Brooklyn and Queens. The project is designed to improve transit access for nearly 900,000 residents and approximately 260,000 workers located along the route.
The IBX is projected to reduce cross-borough travel times by up to 30 minutes. The full route is expected to take 32 minutes end-to-end. Estimated daily ridership stands at 160,000, with 48 million total trips projected annually, a higher figure than any current light rail system in the United States.
"The IBX is the sort of project that future generations will describe as a no-brainer," the governor said in a statement.
The project will utilize an existing freight rail corridor jointly owned by the MTA’s LIRR and CSX Corporation. The corridor currently operates freight services under a concession agreement with New York and Atlantic Railway.
In Brooklyn, the line will pass through multiple neighborhoods, including Sunset Park, Kensington, Flatbush, Brownsville and East New York. This will mark the first time since 1948 that new rapid transit stations have been built in the borough, when the A train was extended from Broadway Junction to Euclid Avenue.
The design phase includes planning for station construction, light rail vehicle specifications, track and signal systems, bridge reconstruction, and supporting infrastructure such as an operations facility and maintenance yard. One recent modification includes a tunnel beneath Metropolitan Avenue in Queens, which replaces earlier plans for street-level rail. This change is expected to improve travel times and system reliability.
The total cost of the IBX is currently estimated at $5.5 billion. The design phase is supported by $45 million in the state budget and a $15 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. An additional $1 million in federal funding will support financial advisory services for the project.
“The IBX is a life-changer for millions," said MTA Chair and Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber. "It’s about time Brooklyn and Queens residents could move directly between our two most populous boroughs – for jobs, education, recreation and everything else."
