JFK-Manhattan Subway Line

JFK-Manhattan Subway Line

“As a global destination and capital of culture, finance and media, vast numbers of travelers fly in and out of New York City daily. To minimize strain on the region’s highway infrastructure, to ease traffic congestion and to reduce carbon emissions, we’ll need to invest in the creation of a direct rail link connecting Manhattan with John F. Kennedy Airport” (Rew-Online).

There are already many construction and rehabilitation projects going on in New York City. It would not hurt have this project added as well. Already there are vacant LIRR tracks near the airport. It is time to utilize those.

As a regular user of subway from Manhattan to JFK, this must be made an immediate propriety. The subway line is required for the city and not UberCopter (a separate blog post would be written later about the UberCopter). This would also be a sustainable mode of transport. Imagine the possibilities: travellers can now arrive directly by rail into Grand Central or Penn Station and can take the appropriate subway/LIRR/PATH trains required. They can also be connected to the LaGuardia airport.  

A map of the rail connections to different airports in and around New York City (Image Credits: Map of New York City)

Second Avenue Subway Project

Second Avenue Subway Project

“Another New York City transportation project is among the most expensive. The plan to build a subway along Manhattan’s Second Avenue also included modernizing certain stations, in addition to the creation of new ones.That project was completed in 2017, and is estimated to have cost about $4.5 billion. Meanwhile, a second phase is still in the works, which is expected to cost another $4.5 billion. The city hopes Phase Two will be completed in 10 years.” (Foxbusiness)

In recent times, the project has become a case study of how the public slowly gets frustrated with civil agencies trying to implement mass projects. There have many rumours regarding how the entire project was not really needed and was a complete waste of money, just for building three stations. Irrespective, it will be interesting to see how the project shapes up in the future.

A map of the subway project (Image Credits: MTA)