Interborough Express Town Hall ~ 8/16/2023

[@rolandsanchez623]

Subway Cars Would be the Best Option for So many reasons

[@javierbarrucz7755]

A light 💡 rail train 🚊 brilliant ❤❤❤ 59:17

[@tonymanzo3766]

Bringing back the trolley cars, nyc went out of their way to end a very efficient system, to be replace with smelly pollution causing buses.

[@d34th56]

normal rail is already there, why would it be more complicated? this would also make it feasible for it continue the line all the way to Boston. light rail is a costly vanity project. Bus is a decent budget friendly option. The graveyard can be altered, going back into the street shall be a bottleneck. This is completely ignoring the fact that this can provide access to the airports.

[@af8312]

While I do wonder why sharing the freight tracks directly, with an arrangement such as Caltrain and the peninsula subdivision wasn't considered (where freight traffic is allowed overnight but not during the day as to not impede peak service), CSX would be likely hostile towards this idea, and it would require MTA to either purchase or exercise eminent domain against CSX. I'd also guess it has to do with FRA crashworthiness regulations. If you watched the presentation you'd see a basic breakdown of the cost of BRT system, which discusses why it would have a higher cost-per-rider than a LRT would. On the note of conventional bus without dedicated infrastructure, you have issues with accessibility (busses need wheelchair lifts), traffic delays, and overall it would take longer to from one end to the other. Additionally busses would need to use Diesel engines, or at best, hybrid Diesel electric engines, while the presentation presents an idea of a BRT system with battery-electric busses, Battery-electric busses are not in service in large numbers anywhere in North America (or the world for that matter) for a number of reasons: 1. batteries mostly come from places like China, 2. Battery-electric busses have poor reliability, 3. vehicle weight becomes an issue, causing significantly higher wear on roads than diesel busses due to an exponential relationship between wear and vehicle weight, 4. Battery electric busses require long rest times at charging stations at the end of their routes. You'd need more land for the depot, and more busses to fill the depot. Plus they have a shorter lifespan than LRT systems due to battery degradation. Side note: no you can't just continue the line to Boston. the NEC is at capacity. Simply put. Until amtrak gets $100B or however much it would cost them to build a new dedicated right of way for their NEC trains to properlly pull 220mph (as they have stated multiple times in their long term planning reports is their eventual intention) there is no way to add additional trains to an already heavily saturated section of the NEC, especially not slower light rail vehicles. Plus light rail vehicles are often not allowed to share trackage with heavy rail due to crash standards being different. If a heavy rail train collided with a freight train it'd likely have at best 0 deaths, and at worst 10, if a light rail collides, it'd much more deadly.

[@jlmadethat]

​@@af8312in the olden days the line had overhead wires too

[@deric8]

Ridership numbers at 115K but they travelling 3 miles on average between the boroughs with most of the trips of heaviest need and capacity to connect to other subway lines within the borough, that sounds to me subway would be overcost overkill. This is a feeder line to the other subway lines, thus a LRT works well here for that purpose.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

Except this line would be great for extensions to LaGuardia, the Bronx, Staten Island if it was built using a decent mode

[@deric8]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 An extension to LaGuardia maybe but to Bronx and Staten Island they will need to build the additional 2 tracks to get there.

[@TommyTheWalker]

Since freight service is sporadic, why not reconfigure the freight trains to use light rail freight trains since parts are readily available and cost is lower? Basically have longer freight trains since the light rail trains have a smaller capacity. If the private companies that operate freight can't be convinced to reconfigure their trains, maybe the state can use imminent domain powers.

[@rolandsanchez623]

Build for growth

[@kuttycrew]

Light Rail is not compatible with the freight Rail system in place (FRA Crash worthiness), is that freight going away or just onto the streets, which make no sense if you live in NY.

[@ernie16101]

To me it should be Subway equipment too many different types of equipment is not good

[@af8312]

equipment overspecialization is definitely an issue, and some cities (boston) see issues with it. New York overall has a pretty streamlined set of equipment, and should be capable of maintaining LRTs in addition to subway and EMU commuter rail trains.

[@rolandsanchez623]

Exactly I just posted the same thing on a different you tube video

[@travelsofmunch1476]

To not buld an automated metro line in 2023 is backwards. No world class city would build new manned light rail.

[@confusedgaming7574]

Toronto, Paris, London? Cities are definitely building manned-light rail.. It could be automated although that will literally require new technology to test in order to work properly which can extend opening. I do not see anything wrong with this.. Unless the IBX somehow gets a custom low floor light metro vehicles, it’s something custom. All we want is nice affordable transit that is reliable.

[@travelsofmunch1476]

@@confusedgaming7574 Toronto imo is not a world class city when it comes to transit, they have just 2 downtown subway lines. Biggest projects Paris and London? Grand Paris Express- Metro, Automated London-Elizabeth line-Metro Automated This is new York's biggest rapid transit project, it should be worldclass too, not a step back

[@confusedgaming7574]

And like I said, this is different. Also, the Elizabeth line isn't automated, and its heavy rail. And the Grand Paris Express is also heavy rail. Automated Light rail technology doesn't exist, yet (excluding CRRC Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit because it is a bus designed like a Low-Floor LRT Vehicle, And the CRRC is having trouble in the American Business, so they probably won't be contracted). The ART system, (Advanced Rapid Transit) features a line of automated vehicles they aren't fit for the specifications that the MTA require, and if the MTA wants to test new technology for automated vehicles, Station structures will be edited causing them to be more expensive... Making the Cost of the line over double-digit billions. I would like to see an automated Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicle, but I just don't think NYC is the city to test it. And finally, "World Class City" is a little vague. I would rather prefer transit that should not take too long to complete, have low maintenance cost, and that's reliable. It's better than nothing, especially because most of the line is on a right of way with decently spaced stations. It's better to see what the MTA choses/ prefers for LRT rolling stock.

[@raanangeberer1903]

How about putting the line SOMEWHERE ELSE in the Bronx?

[@amazing50000]

Do you actually believe the MTA can do that, knowing the MTA are struggling for cash? If the right of way was not already there, The Interborough Express will not even be on the table.

[@mikevanriel7573]

I hate to sound negative but this interborough express will never get built. I would love to be wrong but too many NIMBY’s have influence to block this.

[@Nelson-od9ns]

It should be a subway

[@af8312]

as stated within the presentation, the cost of the project goes up significantly, either with an at-grade subway where you'd need to rebuild existing tunnels and such, or an underground subway where you'd need to bore entirely new tunnels. It could easily end up at double cost if a subway was decided apon

[@durece100]

No. Light rail. Subway trains aren't fully reliable.

[@af8312]

@@durece100 LRTs aren't going to be any much more reliable than Heavy Rail subway trains, the consideration is primarily due to costs and existing infrastructure more than anything.

[@durece100]

@@af8312 Yes it does. Light rail will be more comfortable than other heavy rails. Besides, New York City never had light rails like New Jersey. Streetcars are discontinued in recent years and replacing with automobiles. Why don't watch an interborough express video from the youtuber "Urban Caffeine"?

[@af8312]

@@durece100 I have zero issues with LRTs, in fact, i'm totally down for using them, i'm simply stating that I doubt reliability has that much to do with it, sure the lighter a vehicle is, the lower it's maintenence, but to my understanding it's not that big of a difference