The reconstruction of NYC’s LaGuardia Airport is all but complete, but one element of its original plan won’t be built, at least for years: The elaborate AirTrain that would have connected it to New York’s subway and commuter rail systems.
Instead, for now, the plan is to beef up dedicated bus service to the airport, with dedicated bus lanes. The committee preferred a plan extending a nearby subway line directly to the airport, but said it should be deferred because of “serious, unresolved constructability and cost challenges.”
The bus plan calls for beefing up the existing Q70 bus that provides a free express connection between the airport and rail stations in two nearby areas, and giving it an express lane and signal priority where it runs on the expressway. A second bus is proposed to another subway terminal, the one from which the subway might eventually be extended to the airport.
The AirTrain plan was rejected by a committee appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who originally derailed the Cuomo-era plan shortly after taking office. Critics had pointed out that its cost had grown to $2.5 billion and involved building a rail system that headed away from Manhattan to connect riders to Manhattan-bound trains.
