Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a new plan for New York City’s public transit to extend the Q train along 125th Street to West Harlem, including the construction of three new stations.
Hochul made the announcement on Tuesday during her State of the State address, signaling the beginning of the expansion plan for the relatively new Second Avenue train line, which initially launched on the East Side in 2017.
The governor’s proposal aims to build new train stations at Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, and Broadway, effectively extending the line across Manhattan.
The train project, however, is not immediate, with an estimated completion time that spans several years and a budget of more than $8 billion.
This budget also covers the cost of acquiring a new fleet of trains.
Hochul, in a statement about the necessity of the train line expansion, said, “There are too many transit deserts in New York City — communities that have been left out and left behind for far too long. That’s why I’m so committed to the future of the Second Avenue Subway and the Interborough Express, two projects that will transform the way New Yorkers get around our city.”
The governor’s support for extending the Second Avenue train line to West Harlem signifies a shift from the original plan, dating back to the 1920s, which focused on Manhattan’s East Side.
The Second Avenue train line currently has three stops on the Upper East Side, with the project’s next phase still pending.
This upcoming phase, estimated at $7.7 billion, will extend the Q line from East 96th Street to East Harlem, adding stations at East 106th Street, East 116th Street, and a new station below the existing East 125th Street station.
With the MTA relying on congestion pricing revenue and federal funds, funding challenges remain a concern amidst potential delays from legal actions.
An MTA analysis released in October suggested that an east-west train line extension would be more beneficial and cost-effective than a downtown extension.
By 2045, the West Harlem train line extension would serve around 239,700 daily riders, saving an average of 3.8 minutes per trip.
Jamie Torres-Springer, President of MTA Construction & Development, commented on the project’s potential, stating, “It would be moving to the west of the existing project and there’s some interesting synergies there, but it’s too early to say that we’d be able to invest in it. We’re merely pointing out that we’ve done this evaluation and people will judge for themselves.”
Governor Hochul’s office announced the commencement of a feasibility study to evaluate the possibility of the western train line expansion and to explore opportunities for cost savings, such as concurrent tunnel boring during the construction of Phase 2.
The train study is expected to be completed within six months.
