MTA
The MTA Board has authorization selection of the Jacobs-HDR joint venture to oversee design and engineering of the IBX light rail project, MTA reported Aug. 1. The $5.5 billion project will be built along an existing, 14-mile freight line owned by MTA LIRR and CSX that extends from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to Jackson Heights, Queens (see map below). Anacostia Rail Holdings’ New York & Atlantic Railway currently operates on the corridor under a concession agreement on the LIRR branch. IBX will connect historically underserved communities to the subway, bus and LIRR, while significantly reducing travel times between Brooklyn and Queens, with an end-to-end run time of 32 minutes, according to MTA.
IBX will be a new transit option for close to 900,000 residents living in neighborhoods along the route, along with 260,000 people who work near the corridor in Brooklyn and Queens, MTA said. It will create 19 stations and connect with 17 different subway lines (A, C, E, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 5, 7, B, D, F, M, J, Z, and L), 50 bus routes, and two LIRR stations.
According to MTA, IBX will provide many firsts:
- It will be the first new end-to-end system built entirely within New York City since the IND Crosstown Line, now called the G, fully opened in 1937.
- IBX stations built in Brooklyn will be the first transit stations built in the city’s most populous borough since the A line extended from Broadway Junction to Euclid Ave in 1948.
- IBX stations in Queens will be the first new transit stations built since the Archer Avenue extension of the E, J and Z lines to Jamaica in 1988.
IBX project design will officially kick off this summer, MTA said, focusing on light rail system design including communications and signal design, vehicle design, track design, and civil engineering efforts such as station design, bridge reconstruction and retaining wall design, and design of the operations facility and storage yard. The design process, MTA noted, is the last major step in the project before formal construction begins.
According to MTA, the IBX project has undergone refinement “to ensure that it will provide the best service for passengers for the best value.” In Middle Village, Queens, the MTA is progressing with the design of a tunnel solution beneath Metropolitan Avenue, rather than on-street operations, making the proposed line less prone to travel delays due to mixed traffic operations. This refinement has reduced projected running times of the new line from 39 minutes to 32 minutes and has increased ridership projections to 160,000 per day, up 50,000 from the MTA’s prior estimate, the agency said. IBX’s projected annual ridership is 48 million riders—higher than the current ridership of any other light rail system in the country, MTA said; the next largest is Los Angeles at 46 million riders per year. About 70% of projected IBX riders will transfer within the MTA system, according to MTA.
The project design phase will be principally funded through $45 million from New York State’s 2025 budget and the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan. An additional $15 million was awarded to the MTA by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, which will fund a corridor assessment in support of the design phase. USDOT has also provided $1 million to fund innovative finance expert services for the project.
Gov. Kathy Hochul first announced plans for IBX in her State of the State address on Jan. 5, 2022. Light rail was selected for the project in January 2023. Since that time, MTA has hosted ten open houses attended by nearly 1,000 community members along the route to raise awareness and gather feedback. It also held pop-up outreach at 10 subway stations across the IBX corridor speaking with 1,300 members of the public and over 250 businesses.
“The IBX is a life-changer for millions,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “It’s about time Brooklyn and Queens residents could move directly between our two most populous boroughs—for jobs, education, recreation and everything else. I want to thank Gov. Hochul and our partners in Albany and Washington for their support getting this project off the ground.”
“I look forward to getting the design process under way and continuing the MTA’s track record of completing projects better, faster and cheaper than ever before,” MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said.
Meanwhile, Amey on Aug. 4 reported securing its first contract in the U.S. market with the MTA to deliver an EAM Implementation System for LIRR. Under the $2.8 million contract, Amey will provide a range of asset management services to support the MTA in digitizing existing paper-based processes, create smart data visualization dashboards for improved decision-making, and break down data siloes to create a connected data ecosystem. As part of this, the company said it will provide Hexagon EAM configuration services, data management and analytics, business process mapping, solution design and build, user guidance and training, and the implementation of data systems.
“This award is a significant milestone in Amey’s journey to grow internationally, and it underscores our strategic ambition to expand into carefully selected geographies,” said Andy Milner, CEO of Amey, which opened offices in New York earlier this year.
Separately, MTA recently released its July Financial Plan, showing balanced operating budgets for 2025 and 2026 and narrowed deficits in 2027 and 2028.
Tri-Rail
Tri-Rail logged 4,578,680 rides from July 2024 through June 2025—a new all-time fiscal year ridership record, operator South Florida Regional Transportation Authority reported Aug. 4. The previous high was set in FY 2019 at 4,465,750 rides.
According to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report, which analyzed 31 commuter rail systems nationwide, Tri-Rail ranks No. 4 overall and is one of the few to fully recover pre-pandemic ridership, according to SFRTA, which said Tri-Rail returned to its benchmark of 15,000 weekday and 7,000 weekend rides in February 2024, and has continued its growth since.
“We are exceptionally proud of this ridership milestone,” said David Dech, SFRTA Executive Director. “It speaks to the essential role Tri-Rail plays in meeting the transportation needs of our growing region.”
“Despite its recent ridership success, Tri-Rail faces future funding challenges as the recent Florida state budget included reductions to the system’s funding,” SFRTA reported. “SFRTA’s Governing Board and executive team is actively collaborating with the Florida Legislature, Florida Department of Transportation, and leadership from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, to secure a sustainable, long-term funding solution. Current financial projections indicate that without additional support, Tri-Rail will only have sufficient funds to operate through July 2027.”
Further Reading:
FTA
The FTA on July 31 released a video series providing guidance to public transit agencies, private bus operators, and host cities as they prepare to move millions of fans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Watch above and below:
The FTA said it is laying the groundwork in preparation for the World Cup next year. This video series follows guidance initiated through a “Dear Colleague” letter providing technical assistance and support for recipients related to events like the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.
Earlier this year, POTUS 47 issued an Executive Order titled “Establishing the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026” to coordinate and assist in the planning, organization, and execution of 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournaments.
“Next summer, America will be on the world stage, and so will our public transportation system,” said Marc Molinaro, who was recently confirmed as the FTA’s 16th Administrator. “At FTA, we are committed to equipping our 11 host cities throughout the country with the technical assistance they will need to guarantee their ability to move the immense volume of fans visiting our cities while complying with our safety standards. This is a major opportunity to showcase our public transportation system and the incredible transit workers and bus operators that move America forward.”
