Interborough Express moves ahead as state prepares to release major environmental review
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A rendering of the future New Utrecht Avenue station that will be a part of the Interborough Express. Rendering courtesy of MTA
By Noah Powelson
The state is continuing to move ahead with its plan to build a 14-mile light rail connecting Queens and Brooklyn, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced this week that it was making major progress in the design and environmental review phase of the Interborough Express.
The MTA and Governor Kathy Hochul said the IBX’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the next major step in the future light rail line’s development, is scheduled to be released before the year is over. The DEIS will likely provide answers to a number of major questions about how the new light rail line between Roosevelt Avenue and Brooklyn Army Terminal would operate, and give a clearer sense of how long construction could take.
While providing an update on the project this week, the governor also said that accessibility upgrades are currently being installed at three subway stations that will one day connect with the IBX – Broadway Junction, Junius St. and Avenue I.
Hochul said that all 18 IBX stops will be fully ADA compliant when they are constructed.
The MTA also released new renderings of what the 18 planned IBX stations could look like once the project is finished.
One rendering depicted the future station at New Utrecht Avenue in Borough Park, showcasing a modern station design with a focus on accommodations for people with disabilities.
“For too many commuters, traveling between New York’s two largest boroughs can be lengthy, inconvenient and inaccessible — that’s why the IBX promises to change everything for Brooklyn and Queens, and we aren’t wasting any time advancing this transformational project,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “By pushing forward on design and accelerating accessibility upgrades at future subway connections, my administration is bringing all 900,000 New Yorkers who live near planned IBX line one stop closer to reduced travel times and an even more reliable public transit experience.”
Following the DEIS’ release, the MTA will host a series of public meetings across Queens and Brooklyn to get community input on the plan. The agency hosted dozens of public workshops and Q&A panels last year, but they usually lacked concrete details about station designs or construction timelines.
In preparation for future workshops, the MTA also launched a new website for the IBX that includes project status updates and materials from past events.
The MTA said public workshops on the IBX design will run through 2027.
There is still no estimated date for when IBX construction could be completed, but officials said they expect the first trains to run in the 2030s.
“For decades, people have been dreaming of transit connections between Brooklyn and Queens,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement, “Under Governor Hochul's leadership, we are finally making that a reality with the IBX. And with universal accessibility, everyone is going to benefit.”
The announcement also received praise from Queens Assemblymember and Democrat nominee for the House of Representatives Claire Valdez.
“Mass transit should be the great equalizer: it should be affordable, reliable, and accessible,” Valdez said in a statement. “I'm thrilled that the long-awaited IBX is not only moving forward, but that existing stations are being prioritized for accessibility upgrades. The IBX is a transformative investment in public transit and in every working New Yorker's ability to get where they need to go. I'm thrilled that it will be designed for everyone.
Once thought of as a pipe dream, Hochul first proposed the IBX in 2022 during her first-ever State of the State address. The project has since become a signature goal of her administration.
The $5.5 billion transit project would create the second direct train line between Queens and Brooklyn, and would be constructed on top of an existing freight track that’s rarely used.
Governor Kathy Hochul said the IBX’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement is scheduled to release ahead of schedule. Rendering courtesy of MTA
Currently, the G line is the only subway line that moves directly between the two boroughs without going into Manhattan.
The IBX, once completed, would run from Jackson Heights to Southern Brooklyn, and include stops in neighborhoods that lack direct access to a subway line.
According to Hochul and the MTA, the IBX will be used by a projected 160,000 daily riders. They also said the line will bring travelers between Roosevelt Avenue and Brooklyn Army Terminal in 32 minutes. Each new station will also include wide fare gates, pass-through elevators, digital signage and improved audio announcements.
Currently, the project is in its design and environmental review phase. Once that’s completed, the MTA should be able to provide a more concrete project timeline, including if other properties or land near proposed IBX stations will need to be acquired for construction.
But the biggest roadblock facing the IBX is securing the funding needed to foot the second half of the $5.5 billion bill.
Around $2.75 billion was approved for the project in the MTA’s 2025-29 Capital Plan, roughly half of the total estimated cost of getting the IBX operational.
It’s not clear where the remaining funding could come from, especially as President Donald Trump has repeatedly blocked federal dollars from going into transit projects in New York and across the country. The IBX had previously used federal grant dollars for part of the project’s cost.
The MTA has said they aren’t going to rely on federal government assistance to get the IBX running, and said they are looking for alternative funding sources.
