FROM THE EDITOR, RAILWAY AGE JUNE 2025 ISSUE: Here are a few “different” lyrics I’ve thought of to Billy Joel’s iconic song, “New York State of Mind” (Turnstiles, 1976). Given the current state of confusion—much more so than usual—enveloping the U.S. DOT, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its two regional/commuter railroads, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, it’s fitting to rename Joel’s tune “New York State of Chaos.”
Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a train to Red Bank
Ronkonkoma, or Old Greenwich
But I’m taking Amtrak
On the Hudson River Line
’Cause I need to escape, clear my mind
From a New York state of chaos
The MTA, Amtrak and NJT
They’re swirling in a giant mug
Of polluted, murky USDOT tea
It’s a rancid political circus for all to see
Yet it’s very clear: It’s retaliatory
A congestion pricing kill strategy
No one wins, no one gains
Yes, it’s a New York state of chaos
Railway Age Contributing Editor David Peter Alan dissects the state of chaos: “In the current game of Empire State Politics, we have Gov. Kathy Hochul and many New York City elected officials sparring with the POTUS 47 Administration over transit-related issues. The most contentious is the congestion pricing toll. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants to kill it, while the MTA is fighting USDOT in court. There is also the controversy about the need to shut down one of the East River Tunnel tubes to accommodate rehabilitation in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Hochul and other New York officials are calling for construction to take place on nights and weekends, as was done in 2020 with New York City Transit’s L-train tunnel under the East River. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed for the L-train project to proceed with only nighttime and weekend construction—and the project was a success. Disagreement between Cuomo and then-NYCT President Andy Byford was a factor in Byford’s decision to leave the MTA. Cuomo faced major problems later that forced him out of office, but he might return: He is running for Mayor of New York City and appears to be leading other Democrats in the primary contest. Democrats usually win the office. If Cuomo wins the primary and then the Mayoral election in November, he and Byford—now with Amtrak and overseeing a major Penn Station expansion, which Duffy yanked from the MTA and reassigned to Amtrak while reducing Amtrak funding—will face each other again. This time, Cuomo will not have direct authority over Byford, as he did when he was Governor.”
My take is that Cuomo will probably do his best to intervene and micromanage everything, regardless of whether that falls under his purview as Mayor. That’s his style. Meanwhile, the POTUS 47 Administration-induced chaos continues—not just in New York, but globally. Hang in there!
