NY MTA Eyes $68.4B Capital Plan for 2025-29 (UPDATED 9/26)
“The proposed Capital Plan [download below] assumes a fully funded 2020-2024 Capital Plan and looks ahead to the next slate of vital improvement projects, informed by the most detailed system-wide evaluation the MTA has ever undertaken, the Twenty-Year Needs Assessment,” reported the transit agency, which noted that it “will work with partners in local, State, and Federal government to ensure that the proposed capital plan is fully funded.”
According to a Sept. 18 Bloomberg report, “[n]early half of the proposed budget — $33.4 billion — doesn’t have a potential funding source and state lawmakers already need to fill a $15 billion deficit in the current [$54.8 billion, 2020-2024] capital plan after Governor Kathy Hochul paused … congestion pricing.” While media outlet noted that “Hochul has promised to find ways to fix the congestion pricing deficit in the current plan” and to address “the funding needs” of the next plan, “that process won’t begin until lawmakers reconvene in January and begin work on the state’s budget.”
MTA expects “a potential $14 billion of federal funds, $10 billion from the sale of MTA bonds and possibly $4 billion each from the state and the city, according to Kevin Willens, the MTA’s chief financial officer,” Bloomberg reported. “That leaves about $33.4 billion left that needs to be funded. The MTA already has $47.4 billion of outstanding debt as of July 24. To help cover the estimated deficit, [Thomas] DiNapoli [the state’s comptroller] suggests a potential 10% increase on some levies — payroll mobility tax, corporate franchise surcharge, sales tax and others — would open up about $11.6 billion of bonding capacity. The CBC [Citizens Budget Commission, ‘a nonprofit organization that analyzes New York City and state finances’] recommends cost savings beyond the MTA’s plan to reduce spending by $500 million a year, additional direct appropriations from the state and city, expanding last year’s payroll mobility tax hike beyond the city and boosting fares and tolls above the expected 4% hike.”
Now that the MTA Board has signed off on the 2025-2029 plan, it will be submitted to the MTA Capital Program Review Board by Oct. 1, which has 30 days to review and approve it.
“This Capital Plan was developed by the most comprehensive analysis the MTA has ever undertaken to truly understand the needs of the system, the challenges and opportunities,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said on Sept. 18. “After years of underinvestment, more than 90% of this proposed plan—the largest in MTA history—focuses on bringing the system to a state of good repair. These investments are necessary to serve the following generations and the future of the region’s economy, environment, and social and economic equity.”
Building the 2025-2029 Plan
MTA said the proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan “begins to scale investment to match the $1.5 trillion system, focusing on increasing the pace in certain categories to catch up with decades of underinvestment.” A third-party evaluation carried out by JP Morgan determined that for MTA to maintain a capital investment level comparable to private industry peers, it would need to invest $23 billion annually—“more than twice the already accelerated pace,” according to MTA.
Following is a partial breakdown of the proposed plan (it does not include MTA Bus Company or MTA Interagency):
MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ($47.386 billion)
Subways
“Investments in new railcars and more zero-emissions buses will be a major upgrade to service, the environment and the customer experience,” New York City Transit Interim President Demetrius Crichlow said. “This plan balances addressing the structural needs of the system and maintains the pace to increased accessibility. And by upgrading Depression-era signals on eight subway lines to modern Communication Based Train Control [CBTC], this plan will transform subway service, making it faster and more reliable for hundreds of thousands of riders.”
- Rolling stock. Under the proposal, 1,500 new subway cars will join the subway fleet. MTA reported that older subway car models (R62 and R68) reaching or passing their 40 years of service have a mean distance between failure (MDBF) of 40,000 miles, whereas the newer models have an MDBF of 250,000 miles.
- Signal modernization. “Replacement of decades-old mechanical signals with CBTC technology across more than 75 miles will provide faster and more reliable service,” MTA said. Under the proposed plan, the upgraded subway lines will include: Broadway N, Q, R, W; Liberty Ave. A; Rockaways A, S; and Nassau St. J, Z. Subway lines with CBTC installed have seen an on-time performance of more than 90%, according to MTA.
- Upgrade maintenance facilities. To ensure MTA can “service a 21st century fleet and prevent major service disruptions,” it said it plans to redesign and rebuild the Livonia Shop in Brooklyn and 240th St. Shop in the Bronx, which service trains that run on the 1 and 3 lines and 42nd St. Shuttle.
- Substation upgrades. A full overhaul of substations or targeted component replacement at over 60 locations is planned, according to MTA, along with rehabilitation of 30 circuit breaker houses to “ensure continued service reliability.”
- Station accessibility. The proposed plan calls for at least 60 more stations to be made ADA-accessible and 45 subway station elevators to be replaced. “Altogether, this will ensure that nearly 70% of all subway rides will take place to or from accessible stations,” MTA noted.
- Station improvements. Under the proposed plan, more than 150 stations will benefit from priority repairs, upgrades to customer communications, and enhanced security cameras, MTA said. Ten stations will be fully renovated, and platform fencing will be installed at 100 stations. The fiber-optic cable network will also be upgraded “at an accelerated pace,” according to MTA.
- Modern fare gates. At more than 150 subway stations, modern fare gates “with more accessible, secure gates” will be installed, MTA said. “New generation fare gates feature wide paneled doors and sensor technology to prevent fare evasion while making it easy for people—including those with accessibility needs—to pass through.”
- Resiliency. The proposed plan will make the system more resilient against stormwater flooding by adding flood protection devices at street-level openings, elevating stairs and vents, and sealing tunnel leaks with grouting to reduce stormwater from entering into stations and tunnels, MTA said.
Buses
The proposed plan builds on the efforts already under way of transitioning the agency’s bus fleet to zero-emissions by purchasing an additional 500 zero-emissions buses and continuing to outfit bus depots for charging, according to MTA. By the end of the proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan, 20% of buses will be electric, it said, and avoid approximately 32,500 metric tons of carbon emissions every year; MTA said this represents the largest component of its goal to reduce agencywide operating emissions 85% by 2040.
MTA LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD ($6.005 billion)
“The LIRR has seen a historic level of investment in recent years and this next capital plan will continue building on those efforts with key priority projects that aren’t necessarily visible to the naked eye but critical for the operation of the system,” MTA Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said. “Structural improvements and the purchase of new railcars will complement our ongoing initiatives of enhancing the customer experience to provide a better and more seamless commute.”
- Rolling stock. According to MTA, the proposed capital plan includes the “purchase of new railcars to replace [the] existing fleet that is past its useful life, including the retirement of the 1980s-era M3 cars,” It also includes the purchase of new dual-mode locomotives and the start of the replacement of aging coaches. “Together, these investments will improve service reliability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” MTA reported.
- Improvements to the Hillside Maintenance Facility. MTA said that most of the rolling stock support equipment located within the Hillside Maintenance Facility has not been replaced since the facility opened in the late 1980s, so the plan proposes upgrades to “ensure trains can be efficiently and properly stored, inspected, and maintained.”
- Power system improvements. According to MTA, 16 substations will be replaced or renewed under its proposal.
- Accessibility. The LIRR will achieve 98% accessibility by making at least four more stations accessible as proposed in this plan, including Bellerose, Douglaston, and Cold Spring Harbor and more, MTA said.
METRO-NORTH RAILROAD ($6.005 billion)
“Extensive state of good repair projects in the Grand Central Artery, as well as resiliency projects along Metro-North’s Hudson Line, will ensure Metro-North can keep providing safe and reliable service,”Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said. “This Capital Plan recognizes the growing risks that parts of the Metro-North system will face in the era of climate change, and it is imperative we take proactive measures to strengthen the system and address deteriorating assets.”
- Rebuilding the Grand Central Artery. “This four-mile stretch is critical for the more than 200,000 daily Metro-North customers traveling through the tunnel, as well as the thousands of cars and people that travel on Park Avenue daily,” MTA reported. “The proposed plan heavily focuses investment for major renovations to structural supports and facilities and continued replacement of the Train Shed roof to ensure the Grand Central Artery’s next 100 years, along with investments to the Park Avenue Tunnel and Grand Central Terminal itself.”
- Fortifying the Hudson Line. MTA said that more than 50% of the 74-mile-long line “is vulnerable to coastal surge risk, and torrential rains exacerbate landslide risks in areas where tracks are adjacent to steep slopes.” The proposed plan, it noted, focuses on addressing “erosion hot spots, stabilizing upland slopes, and upgrading drainage in the most vulnerable and highest-ridership segments of the line, protecting more than 20 miles of Hudson Line.”
- Stations. MTA said another plan focus is to address a backlog of state of good repair needs for Metro-North stations. The plan is slated to replace and rehabilitate deteriorating station platforms and other major station components, especially at Harlem Line Stations, which MTA said have “decaying ‘hollow-core’ platforms that urgently require reconstruction.”
- Power upgrades. Under the plan, “[u]pgrading the traction power system with new power substations will improve reliability and enable Metro-North to run more trains across its network,” MTA said.
- Rolling stock. The proposed plan includes the “purchase of new railcars to replace [the] existing fleet that is past its useful life,” MTA said. This includes the retirement of the 1980s-era M3 cars. It also includes the purchase of new locomotives for West of Hudson service. “Together, these investments will improve service reliability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” MTA said.
- Accessibility. The plan proposes to make at least two Metro-North stations accessible: Ludlow and Wakefield Station on the Hudson Line, according to MTA.
BRIDGES AND TUNNELS ($3 billion)
“This plan will continue investments targeting rehabilitation of these iconic structures,” MTA Bridges & Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan said. “With over 335 million vehicles crossing MTA’s bridges and tunnels in 2023—the highest annual traffic volume in 87 years—making safety and system improvements remains a priority to ensure the facilities continue to serve regional transportation demands.”
- Extending structure life. MTA said that the proposed plan “focuses heavily on investments for structural repairs and upgrades necessary to extend the life of these major crossings.” Investments include the dehumidification of the main cables at the Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges; necessary structural repairs at all nine bridges and tunnels; and installment of weigh-in-motion systems to enforce illegal overweight truck usage of the bridges, according to the agency.
- Safety upgrades. Safety investments in the plan include the installation of a fixed fire suppression system in the tunnels, upgrades to the electronic security system at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and traffic signage upgrades on several bridges, MTA reported.
- Resiliency improvements. Upgrading the power systems with new substations at the Throgs Neck Bridge, Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and Queens Midtown Tunnel “will ensure power reliability for critical operational and life safety systems at those facilities,” according to MTA.
SYSTEM EXPANSION ($5.25 billion)
- The Interborough Express. The plan includes $2.75 billion to start work to complete design and begin construction. MTA said the light rail project “will significantly cut travel times and increase mobility options between Brooklyn and Queens, where 900,000 residents live within half a mile” of it.
- Capacity improvements. “This next Capital Plan will take a closer look into commuter railroad infrastructure to look for opportunities to implement improvements that would create additional capacity, respond to changing populations and land-use patterns and enhance regional rail network,” MTA reported. “Projects to be analyzed include electrification of the LIRR Main Line to Yaphank, improvements to the Port Jefferson and Montauk Branches, adding a third track to the Metro-North Harlem Line, and connecting Hudson Line service to Penn Station.”
