Extending the Second Avenue subway across 125th St is a great concept, but the current project is deeply flawed: * At $7.7B for 1.3mi, it will cost an order of magnitude more than similar lines in other global cities. * Deep stations will waste a lot of time—over 10 min across 125th.

The western extension of the Second Avenue Subway has a $7.7-billion price tag that calls into question the very logic of building it at all — but advocates and researchers say the train is a good idea that could cost a lot less with some minor alterations.

"ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to veto a controversial bill that would have required two operators aboard every subway train with more than two cars, sources told Streetsblog." W/Streetsblog's Man in Albany, Austin Jefferson -- nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/12/19/h...

Great news: Gov Hochul has reportedly decided to veto a bill requiring two-person train operation. This poorly-considered bill would've mmediately impacted services that are currently run with one person, and would've make it impossible to fully automate new lines like the IBX.

The bill on Hochul's desk mandating 2PTO on the MTA, Assembly Bill A4873, still hasn't been vetoed. If it's not by the end of the day it will automatically be law and worsen service on small shuttle trains and off-peak services as a result Call her office at (518) 474-8390 and demand she veto this

Really absurd. The largest cost in running a subway trains is labor. One-person-train-operation (OPTO) would lead to drastic service improvements by cutting in half the $$$ needed to run a train. BTW almost every other system in the world already uses OPTO. www.crainsnewyork.com/transportati...

A bill passed by the NYS Legislature banning One-Person Train Operation goes against best practices both across the country and world, and would leave New York’s transit system far behind its peers. ETA asks Gov Hochul to not allow this regressive bill to become law. www.etany.org/statements/i...

The FTA's decision to send this back in 2023 remains absolutely perplexing and still, to this day, almost entirely unexplained.

A good idea =>

A really clever idea from @vanshnookenraggen.com -- www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_index/2025/...

Andy Byford has been selected to take over the reconstruction of Penn Station. An expert of the first tier, he is well versed with through-running has spoken of its importance for Penn before. Still, the project faces many challenges. Read our statement: www.etany.org/statements/c...

#BuildtheQueensLink!!!

"Thanks to some excellent data work by the engineering team that dug all the way down to analyzing the frequency of pings from a train’s onboard beacons as it enters the station, all screens in the system now show the same arrival times" -- www.adamfishercox.com/portfolio/mt...

@wafisher.bsky.social and the team at @nyctransit.bsky.social have been doing a great job improving all the digital signs across the system. Having explanations here, and readable of why things are delayed is a great for straphangers.

This is why I’m currently not too worried about the OMB challenge either. bsky.app/profile/reic...

It appears so.

Another day, another unfortunate blunder from @mta.info, this time, ordering battery electric locomotives for use on electrified railroad territory

This move from @mta.info to procure expensive battery electric locomotives that can’t run in catenary mode to Penn station or NJ instead of using better EMU’s and wiring additional territory is deeply disappointing.

The US is still a nation of laws, and congestion pricing is the law of NY state. The federal government cannot legally start and stop programs on a whim. ETA stands behind the MTA in its lawsuit to ensure that this successful program continues to improve NY.

After months of research, we have released our new report on Penn station expansion. This project is not necessary to unlock the capacity gateway will deliver.

The MTA has near-sighted plans to buy slow & expensive diesel equipment for our commuter system. But the future of urban rail is electric, & they should be laying the groundwork now for a better system in the long run. Read Part 2 of our Capital Plan analysis now: www.etany.org/not-so-capit...

Building on what @ndhapple.bsky.social coincidentally released earlier- www.curbed.com/article/subw.... Our new report discusses some key points for subway rolling stock procurement.

We just posted a rolling stock data set. We wanted to understand how rolling stock costs vary, and this seemed like a good way to do it! It’s early days. Please check out. Please let us know how to do better: transitcosts.com/rolling-stoc...

Equipment reliability continues to bedevil #NJTransit Rail Operations with fleet mean distance between failures (MDBF) falling to 48,959 miles in October 2024. The Multilevel IIIs won’t begin entering service until at least mid-2025, so it’s imperative for the agency to find a way to fix this ASAP.

A tiered approach that does not reflect that certain building types will not pencil out or even be possible with parking mandates would be a major disappointment that removes a significant number of potential units city wide.

With decongestion pricing set to start in 2025, New York’s leadership must become extremely serious about reforming how the state builds stuff. Remember, France is constructing 120 miles of new subway lines and 68 stations for just 70% of the cost of MTA's 5-year capital plan.

California's gamble on green hydrogen as a path to decarbonizing transport not looking good right now. We can continue down the current path and suffer chronic fuel shortages and/or reliance on CO2-intensive fossil hydrogen, or we can invest in proven overhead catenary rail instead.

Made a starter pack to help Minecraft modders find other modders, artists, community members on bluesky. go.bsky.app/JvLfdiD

Apparently, the New Brunswick to Newark catenary funding is just for design work. This is quite unfortunate, this is a good chunk of what this project should cost total and its just for design work. railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.do...

Not only increasing, but significantly cutting service! Weekend Newark service has been cut 50% most of the year Weekend JSQ service is being cut 50% for the foreseeable future Hoboken is being closed around the clock for nearly a month, and Newport is next...

$3.5 billion for this is wild. The original EWR AirTrain cost under $400 million to build in the mid-1990s.

For 3.5 billion of entirely above ground gadgetbahn, we could have just extended the path to the terminals and Elizabeth and done a much smaller/cheaper airside people mover significantly enhancing access to EWR, multiple neighborhoods while significantly reducing traffic to the airport.

My friend and fellow regular Philly train commuter wrote an op-ed on what PANYNJ needs to do to expand PATH service to meet its sustainability goals. www.nj.com/opinion/2024...

The sparks effect in action. LIRR/NJT/MN/NYCT/PATH should note, more service(and for the commuter RR's) more electrification would increase ridership, especially off peak and on weekends!

This is a mostly above ground modern ALM system that is grade separated. At these costs, building similarly would be transformative for many dense cities in North America. Imagine at this cost connecting Staten Island & Fort Lee for less than 3 billion dollars via JFK/Bergenline & the Bayonne Bridge

Reasonable cost countries: let’s build a km of subway for this price USA: let’s build a single station entrance 🤦‍♀️

ETA has been arguing for the need for improved power systems for months. The key now is to ensure that these changes can be implemented in a systemic, ongoing fashion in the future, so we aren't left here again. www.etany.org/repairing-no...

Good news: $80 million is coming repair the ancient catenary and aging signals on the Northeast Corridor that caused so many unacceptable delays and cancellations this past summer. While there is a lot left to be done, this is a good first step. www.nj.com/news/2024/11...

North American Transit agencies: we need a 3 meter clearance on each side of the entry pavillon access door + 5 meters on each side of the faregates. Rennes: I'll put my faregates right ON the platform access (which is also the station access), 3.3 m away from the platform screen doors.

At @etany.bsky.social we had a crayon (something we like to avoid) just to demonstrate how much more sense it would make to extend PATH to the terminals. But sadly, thanks to the way the PA is run, it's not on the table—even though it's the same agency.

A hydrogen safety lesson from 1937 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenb...

One of the biggest issues in our regional transportation network, a lack of coordination, and PATH just tweeted it out...

Big thanks to everyone at @etany.bsky.social who helped out with our report on this www.etany.org/ibx-all-fait...

amNY's Ben Brachfeld has been all over this

Because we're going to do this again, here are the tunnel clearance diagrams for the M9, the R142/PA5 and a standard light-rail train.

The importance of having the IBX be entirely grade-separated cannot be overstated. ETA has long stressed the importance of building this important piece of infrastructure the right way, and we're ecstatic that the MTA made the right choice. www.etany.org/ibx-all-fait...

AMAZING NEWS!!! As we have long argued, this tunnel will have a HUGE impact on the speed and reliability of the IBX. Well done, MTA!!

NEW COLUMN: The much-needed and unfunded Portal South Bridge provides a stark example of Amtrak's insanely warped planning priorities. We need a cost-effective plan to double the railroad service in NJ. The railroad's Penn South obsession is getting in the way -- www.curbed.com/article/sout...

Reading "The Pennsylvania Railroad Electrification" by Duer, and I am struck by the cascading effects of standard pole spacing. It allows standard poles and catenary hanger lengths. Standards beget greater certainty in challenging circumstances: