New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a new legislation to speed up the process to build a railway line between LaGuardia Airport and midtown Manhattan.
The new elevated AirTrain line will connect the airport with Long Island Rail Road stations and the No. 7 subway at Mets-Willets Point in Flushing, Queens.
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Within this framework, various potential alignments of AirTrain will be discussed during an upcoming environmental review of the proposed project.
AirTrain is expected to complement the airport’s ongoing $8bn redevelopment programme, as well as help reduce vehicular traffic and delays for passengers travelling to and from the airport.
The mass-transit line will also allow travellers to reach the airport in less than 30 minutes from either New York Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
Cuomo said: “The new LaGuardia Airport will provide an improved customer experience with better access to airlines and public transportation for all passengers – essential to the airport’s transformation.
“AirTrain LGA will set an example of comprehensive transit infrastructure for the rest of the nation, and will pay dividends for decades by connecting riders to transit hubs across the Metropolitan area, boosting passenger growth across all airlines, and providing a more efficient means of travel for generations to come.”
The AirTrain LGA project’s environmental review is to begin later this year and to be completed by the end of 2019.
The construction of the line is expected to begin in 2020 and conclude in 2022. LaGuardia Airport operator Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is also working with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build a new station at Mets-Willets Point with the aim to facilitate easy transfers via AirTrain.
