MTA Seeks Blueprints for Interborough Express Spanning Brooklyn and Queens
Preliminary design work is next step for a new light rail line championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. By Jose Martinez This article originally appeared in The City. NEW YORK - The next step for a proposed light-rail transit line between Brooklyn and Queens along 14 miles of existing freight tracks will be preliminary design work, MTA officials said Tuesday. The Interborough Express, a rail link between Bay Ridge and Jackson Heights, would have 19 stops and connect to 17 subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. The MTA also said it is looking at potentially using an existing tunnel beneath a Queens cemetery instead of running street-level service in Middle Village. “We’re taking an underutilized train line, [which] basically gets one freight train a day, and turning it into something which is transformative for so many New Yorkers,” said MTA CEO Janno Lieber in announcing the request for design proposals. “It makes no sense that the 5 million people who live in Brooklyn and Queens...