PANYNJ issues preliminary engineering RFP for LaGuardia AirTrain

[agar io]

That's about right. I always wondered though where this new presumably elevated line would be routed once it got past Hazen St. Likely some NIMBY action there from the garden apartments nearby.

A structure with a quiet, unobtrusive design should calm most of these residents down once they figure they have shorter commute times. There will always be some NEIMBY (Never Every In My BackYard) people though.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

 There will always be some NEIMBY (Never Every In My BackYard) people though.

 

Don't forget the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) and the LULU (Locally Undesirable Land Use) folks.

[Kamen Rider]

 

reasons why I think Willets Point isn't that bad an idea.

 

#1. the design is much more straight forward. no weaving around or under bridges. No avoiding the runway.

Actually, not quite. You'll have to build it through the GCP-Van Wyck-CIP interchange without getting in the way of planes flying the expressway arrival to 31. 

#2. Should the FAA ever change thier minds, it's a closer step towards an line between the two airports.

And since when is spending 3+billion on a line with a teensy market a good idea? BRT would be best. 

#3. Willets Point offers better regional connections. Sure, a quick ride to manhattan is great, but not everyone using the airport wants to go there. Extending the bus routes that terminate in downtown Flushing to a Willets point station gives you not only a two seat ride to the airport from as far away as Hicksville, but in can include an off street layover/terminal area, which means no me bus gridlock clogging up Main and Roosevelt.

Fair point, but remember that the VAST majority of users are going to Manhattan. Not giving them a quick and easy way to their destination will not take them off the roads, leaving us with basically status quo. Same problem with LI. FIrst off, most LI travelers use JFK because LGA is such $#!t. Secondly, making them transfer between LIRR trains with luggage (much more leisure/VFR traffic from LI, most business stuff is from the city) will not be popular. And lastly, there is the issue that, you know, it's a bit of a roundabout route. 

#4. They have space to build the support facilities. A distinct Airtrain is going to need a shop and storage space. Sure, JFK had some room to spare, but LaGuardia doesn't. With Willets Point, there is plenty of room. Astoria, not so much. The IRT station is due for a renovation anyway, so integrating the new station would be even easier.

You could squeeze it in between the airport and the neighborhoods to the west. 

#5. If/When they ever get around to building anything next to Citi Field, your first stop in the city could be a destination in and of itself.

Or your first stop could be close to midtown....

 

#1: the routing prince Andrew implied avoids the approach path to 31 all together, approaching Mets-Willets point from the west.

 

#2:the best ideas create their own markets. see more below

 

#3: two issues with that statement: first it assumes that people who are catching or coming planes will be the only ones using it, and second: that they are all going to Manhattan. The Airport also has thousands of staff members, who would now have a much more convenient mass transit connection and might switch from driving. Many people, more so in this age of AirBn-Illegal-hotel, might eschew high priced Manhattan and try the boroughs.  I've seen people, foreigners, with suitcases, travel packs and tourist guides, getting on and off the L at the local stations in Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood

 

#4: all the land is already in use for other airport support faculties.

 

#5: multiple stadiums, a mall, hotels and a boat load of other crap vs cranky greeks... also, during the off season, the stadium parking lots could be used as satellite airport lots.

 

Where would the off-street layover be? Remember that the whole Casey Stengel Depot property would be wiped away to make room for the AirTrain staton and maintenance shop. 

A section of one of Citi Field's parking lots. the lost spaces could be replaced with a multi story garage. One of my ideas was a multi use structure up against the IRT tracks that contained the not only bus station and layover space, but the air train station, the airtrain shop and the missing parking spaces.  

[RR503]

#1: the routing prince Andrew implied avoids the approach path to 31 all together, approaching Mets-Willets point from the west.

Still have to deal with the interchange....

 

#2:the best ideas create their own markets. see more below

As far as air train to JFK from LGA goes, I can't see it getting more than 30,000 daily riders. I don't see this ever being necessary, unless an airline splits their domestic/intl ops between the 2 (which would be impossible, but that's a discussion for another time). 

 

#3: two issues with that statement: first it assumes that people who are catching or coming planes will be the only ones using it, and second: that they are all going to Manhattan. The Airport also has thousands of staff members, who would now have a much more convenient mass transit connection and might switch from driving. Many people, more so in this age of AirBn-Illegal-hotel, might eschew high priced Manhattan and try the boroughs.  I've seen people, foreigners, with suitcases, travel packs and tourist guides, getting on and off the L at the local stations in Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood

For workers (note the arrow!):

And aside from travelers, workers and planespotters, who else goes to LGA?

As far as borough connectivity goes, I agree with you, but the train GOES TO MIDTOWN. If this thing went to, say, jackson heights, it'd be different, but there is not interborough connectivity to be had at willets pt. FWIW to the L is a minimum of 2 xfers. (N)/(W) to the is 1. Also, the majority of travelers at LGA are for business. 

 

#4: all the land is already in use for other airport support faculties.

I see some parking lots and a tow pound...

 

#5: multiple stadiums, a mall, hotels and a boat load of other crap vs cranky greeks... also, during the off season, the stadium parking lots could be used as satellite airport lots.

Who do you know gets off of a flight and goes shopping or to a sporting event. Yes, there will be hotels, but the VAST majority will still be in Manhattan. People will want the fastest way to dump their bags or get to their meeting, not a shopping experience. Remember your market.

I do like the idea of switching parking uses though. 

[BreeddekalbL]

i agree this is a stupid idea since lga is an airport catering to the business traveler the most logicial extension would to extend the (N)/(W) but we will run into the big wall that is known as the Vallone's and Astoria 

[CenSin]

#1: the routing prince Andrew implied avoids the approach path to 31 all together, approaching Mets-Willets point from the west.

 

#2:the best ideas create their own markets. see more below

 

#3: two issues with that statement: first it assumes that people who are catching or coming planes will be the only ones using it, and second: that they are all going to Manhattan. The Airport also has thousands of staff members, who would now have a much more convenient mass transit connection and might switch from driving. Many people, more so in this age of AirBn-Illegal-hotel, might eschew high priced Manhattan and try the boroughs.  I've seen people, foreigners, with suitcases, travel packs and tourist guides, getting on and off the L at the local stations in Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood

 

#4: all the land is already in use for other airport support faculties.

 

#5: multiple stadiums, a mall, hotels and a boat load of other crap vs cranky greeks... also, during the off season, the stadium parking lots could be used as satellite airport lots.

 

A section of one of Citi Field's parking lots. the lost spaces could be replaced with a multi story garage. One of my ideas was a multi use structure up against the IRT tracks that contained the not only bus station and layover space, but the air train station, the airtrain shop and the missing parking spaces.  

Justify the proposal as you will, but it’s patently obvious that the most value comes from a connection to the core—Manhattan. I still think a hint of a future connection straight to JFK Airport is the only saving grace for this alignment.

[bobtehpanda]

#1: the routing prince Andrew implied avoids the approach path to 31 all together, approaching Mets-Willets point from the west.

 

#2:the best ideas create their own markets. see more below

 

#3: two issues with that statement: first it assumes that people who are catching or coming planes will be the only ones using it, and second: that they are all going to Manhattan. The Airport also has thousands of staff members, who would now have a much more convenient mass transit connection and might switch from driving. Many people, more so in this age of AirBn-Illegal-hotel, might eschew high priced Manhattan and try the boroughs.  I've seen people, foreigners, with suitcases, travel packs and tourist guides, getting on and off the L at the local stations in Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood

 

#4: all the land is already in use for other airport support faculties.

 

#5: multiple stadiums, a mall, hotels and a boat load of other crap vs cranky greeks... also, during the off season, the stadium parking lots could be used as satellite airport lots.

 

A section of one of Citi Field's parking lots. the lost spaces could be replaced with a multi story garage. One of my ideas was a multi use structure up against the IRT tracks that contained the not only bus station and layover space, but the air train station, the airtrain shop and the missing parking spaces.  

 

#2: We have big markets that are not served right now; why should we pay a billion dollars for a market that doesn't even primarily consist of New Yorkers?

 

#3: LGA workers do not live in areas accessible to the and LIRR at Willets Point; those who live near the west of Willets Point would be better off taking a local bus to LGA. Areas accessible to the and Port Washington Branch in the east are so expensive that short of some Bronx-is-burning type situation, airport workers wouldn't be able to afford to move there. Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood are all far closer to Manhattan than the areas east of Willets Point, so using it for airBnB would be quite low.

 

#5 and #6: The "cranky geeks" live in a gentrified, hip neighborhood that has excellent transit connections to other neighborhoods. Willets Point is in the middle of nothing, which is why it's so easy to build there. Willets Point transit is not convenient for living, or hotel stays, or anything like that. In any case, any further development of Corona Park is dead in the water; witness the reactions to the proposals for malls on the Citi Field parking lots, or an MLS stadium in the park.

 

Justify the proposal as you will, but it’s patently obvious that the most value comes from a connection to the core—Manhattan. I still think a hint of a future connection straight to JFK Airport is the only saving grace for this alignment.

 

That's not even that much of a saving grace. Who is traveling from JFK to LGA? That's a layover requiring you to go through customs, go through baggage claim, wait for the AirTrain, get on it, and then re-check bags and re-enter security at LGA.

[Italianstallion]

i agree this is a stupid idea since lga is an airport catering to the business traveler the most logicial extension would to extend the (N)/(W) but we will run into the big wall that is known as the Vallone's and Astoria 

 

Maybe we could buy off the Astoria crowd with some transit improvements - like a reconfigured Ditmars station (or at least a new entrance) closer to the Q69 bus and a promise of express service from Ditmars and Astoria Blvd's to Queensboro Plaza from the new line to LGA. 

[BreeddekalbL]

Maybe we could buy off the Astoria crowd with some transit improvements - like a reconfigured Ditmars station (or at least a new entrance) closer to the Q69 bus and a promise of express service from Ditmars and Astoria Blvd's to Queensboro Plaza from the new line to LGA. 

 

didn't they get mad when they last had peak express service with the ?

[RR503]

didn't they get mad when they last had peak express service with the ?

Yup! To be fair though, it made only 2 stops before going exp. This would make at least 2. 

[Kamen Rider]

Justify the proposal as you will, but it’s patently obvious that the most value comes from a connection to the core—Manhattan. I still think a hint of a future connection straight to JFK Airport is the only saving grace for this alignment.

Everything I've seen implies the line to be another Innova Metro installation. It's even in the PA's current 10 year capitol plan as such with (cheap photoshop job) concept art on page 31. They intend to start building it in 2019.

 

http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/documents/Capital-Plan-2017-2026/

 

 

 

 

Still have to deal with the interchange....

easier than dealing with the Hell Gate Bridge and nimbys. You might have to move one ramp slightly but other than that, if you come to ground level you can get around it rather easily.

 

As far as air train to JFK from LGA goes, I can't see it getting more than 30,000 daily riders. I don't see this ever being necessary, unless an airline splits their domestic/intl ops between the 2 (which would be impossible, but that's a discussion for another time). 

 

Not automaticly impossible. In fact the idea of two airports connected by rail was discussed in attempting to mitigate overcrowding at London Heathrow. There was discussion about a direct, nonstop link to Gatwick airport to allow them to function as theoretically one large hub.

 

 

 

And aside from travelers, workers and planespotters, who else goes to LGA?

 

People meeting incoming passengers and people seeing others off. People needing to use services based at the airport. people rent cars from airport rental facilties without flying places.

 

On one family drive down to Disney World, we had to make a pit stop at Orlando airport to pick up my sister, who'd flown to California a week earlier to visit her boyfriend and was flying into Orlando to meet us. We had to sit around and wait for her plane to land, using the airport's services and shops to kill time.

 

As far as borough connectivity goes, I agree with you, but the train GOES TO MIDTOWN. If this thing went to, say, jackson heights, it'd be different, but there is not interborough connectivity to be had at willets pt. FWIW to the L is a minimum of 2 xfers. (N)/(W) to the is 1. Also, the majority of travelers at LGA are for business. 

Hang out in flushing for five minutes as see how big the traffic jams get due to the buses. If they were moved to terminate at Willets Point, then you'd be solving two issues at once, getting lots of people from other areas a much more convenient route to the airport and freeing up downtown flushing from buslock. Or are you ok with MTA drives having to pee on the sides of churches?

 

N/W to the L is also one of the subway's worse designed connections.

 

I see some parking lots and a tow pound...

 

I see rental car faculties, the PA vehicle depot, part of delta's cargo operations and the aviation fuel storage depot.

 

Who do you know gets off of a flight and goes shopping or to a sporting event.

 

​Quite a few people actually. Especially my dad. When we'd go to Orlando, first stop, whether driving or flying, was ether an outlet mall or a Walmart.  

 

Yes, there will be hotels, but the VAST majority will still be in Manhattan. People will want the fastest way to dump their bags or get to their meeting, not a shopping experience. Remember your market.

 

A market who's top ten destinations for outgoing passengers include at #7,4 and 3 respectively, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. 2.2 million people flew out of LGA last year to go to Florida. I don't know about you, but I think a fair number of those were not business travelers, but New Yorkers looking for beaches, cruise ships and Mickey Mouse and who didn't want to put up with Kennedy.

 

Your entire argument reads as about worrying only about incoming travelers from other places. I'm trying to rectify both people coming in and locals going out and on top of that, the people who work there, to encourage mass transit use. I don't want to force them, but incentive them with a clean, fast option that doesn't involve having to sit in traffic on the Grand Central.

 

There are business travelers who are not coming from manhattan, getting on a plane and going somewhere else to do their business. They might be better persuaded to take public transit from their various starting points instead of driving if there was a reasonable system to get them to the airport. 

 

 

 

 

[Wallyhorse]

#2: We have big markets that are not served right now; why should we pay a billion dollars for a market that doesn't even primarily consist of New Yorkers?

 

#3: LGA workers do not live in areas accessible to the and LIRR at Willets Point; those who live near the west of Willets Point would be better off taking a local bus to LGA. Areas accessible to the and Port Washington Branch in the east are so expensive that short of some Bronx-is-burning type situation, airport workers wouldn't be able to afford to move there. Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood are all far closer to Manhattan than the areas east of Willets Point, so using it for airBnB would be quite low.

 

#5 and #6: The "cranky geeks" live in a gentrified, hip neighborhood that has excellent transit connections to other neighborhoods. Willets Point is in the middle of nothing, which is why it's so easy to build there. Willets Point transit is not convenient for living, or hotel stays, or anything like that. In any case, any further development of Corona Park is dead in the water; witness the reactions to the proposals for malls on the Citi Field parking lots, or an MLS stadium in the park.

 

 

That's not even that much of a saving grace. Who is traveling from JFK to LGA? That's a layover requiring you to go through customs, go through baggage claim, wait for the AirTrain, get on it, and then re-check bags and re-enter security at LGA.

This is why I'd be looking to do such a line as previously noted as a Queens branch of the SAS, going through a new tunnel at 124th Street (with a stop on 124 between 1st and 2nd Avenues) and two stops on Randalls Island before going to Queens and LaGuardia with a terminal at Willets Point, with provisions to go further east in the future and eventually to JFK.  

[RR503]

easier than dealing with the Hell Gate Bridge and nimbys. You might have to move one ramp slightly but other than that, if you come to ground level you can get around it rather easily.

Please do explain how a routing that remains north of the Hell Gate will have to deal w/ it... And FWIW, we already discussed adding some stations to help with the NIMBY problem. 

 

Not automaticly impossible. In fact the idea of two airports connected by rail was discussed in attempting to mitigate overcrowding at London Heathrow. There was discussion about a direct, nonstop link to Gatwick airport to allow them to function as theoretically one large hub.

 

Yup, and that's LHR which operates at 100% capacity 24/7/365. None of the NYC airports have that problem.

 

And such a thing was discussed, but it was never built. You have to remember that the LON airport scene is quite different from the NY scene. B/c of the value of heathrow slots, carriers that fly there tend to use them for their high-value, high-yield intl routes, not the sorta meh feeder ones to secondary cities. That stuff is flown from gatwick. This is not the case at JFK, almost all carriers there fly a good mix of intl and domestic feeder from it, eliminating the need for a connection.

 

People meeting incoming passengers and people seeing others off. People needing to use services based at the airport. people rent cars from airport rental facilties without flying places.

 

And you're saying that that's how many people per day? 2?

 

On one family drive down to Disney World, we had to make a pit stop at Orlando airport to pick up my sister, who'd flown to California a week earlier to visit her boyfriend and was flying into Orlando to meet us. We had to sit around and wait for her plane to land, using the airport's services and shops to kill time.

 

Key word there is "once." Most people avoid airports like the plague. 

 

Hang out in flushing for five minutes as see how big the traffic jams get due to the buses. If they were moved to terminate at Willets Point, then you'd be solving two issues at once, getting lots of people from other areas a much more convenient route to the airport and freeing up downtown flushing from buslock. Or are you ok with MTA drives having to pee on the sides of churches?

 

I'm all for a Willets Pt. bus terminal, but this doesn't help anyone going to Manhattan, which is LGA's main market. 

 

N/W to the L is also one of the subway's worse designed connections.

 

Really? I found it quite easy to use...

 

I see rental car faculties, the PA vehicle depot, part of delta's cargo operations and the aviation fuel storage depot.

​Quite a few people actually. Especially my dad. When we'd go to Orlando, first stop, whether driving or flying, was ether an outlet mall or a Walmart.  

 

With all due respect to rental car lots, they can be moved. 

Yes, quite a few people in ORLANDO. Orlando is a leisure destination. People have time. LGA is a business airport. People don't have time. 

 

A market who's top ten destinations for outgoing passengers include at #7,4 and 3 respectively, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. 2.2 million people flew out of LGA last year to go to Florida. I don't know about you, but I think a fair number of those were not business travelers, but New Yorkers looking for beaches, cruise ships and Mickey Mouse and who didn't want to put up with Kennedy.

 

Let's look at the full list...... #1. Chicago -- business center. #2. Atlanta -- ditto. #3 Miami -- leisure. #4 FLL -- same. #5 DFW -- business. #6 CLT -- same. #7 orlando -- leisure. #8 Boston -- business. #9 DTW -- business. #10 Denver -- same. And FWIW, Chicago and Atlanta, 2 business centres, have more pax than all the FL airports on that list combined. Yes, there are some leisure travelers, but go there, and what you'll see is a sea of briefcases and suits heading for midtown. 

 

Your entire argument reads as about worrying only about incoming travelers from other places. I'm trying to rectify both people coming in and locals going out and on top of that, the people who work there, to encourage mass transit use. I don't want to force them, but incentive them with a clean, fast option that doesn't involve having to sit in traffic on the Grand Central.

 

I don't get this ^^^. You aren't forcing them. Instead, you're presenting them with an inviable alternative. 

 

There are business travelers who are not coming from manhattan, getting on a plane and going somewhere else to do their business. They might be better persuaded to take public transit from their various starting points instead of driving if there was a reasonable system to get them to the airport. 

 

I agree. Reasonable there, I think, is the key word. Sending people east to go west (which is where people are going mostly, besides your protests. Just look at a job concentration map of the region) just won't float. In a city famed for being high speed, people don't have time for browsing through shopping malls, taking detours to use public transit or otherwise. Malls are too suburban for the city, that's why they haven't been terribly successful in NY. Finally, the younger generation seems to be addicted to ridesharing. If their Uber/Lyft or whatever can get them to the airport faster than transit, they'll use it. Currently, using gets you from midtown to willets pt in about 1/2 an hour. After transferring, waiting for the train, and then riding to the airport, the airtrain should take another 15 for a total of 45. In the worst possible traffic (evening rush on a friday), Maps has the journey taking a maximum of 55 minutes by car, or 51 minutes by transit. And remember, those conditions are the worst ones possible. Most times, it's faster. So please explain to me how saving a maximum of 6 minutes for travelers is worth 2ish billion dollars. 

 

Now, if we connected to the , the ride would be about 20 minutes (or less if express is added), giving a total of 35 minutes. That would be a saving. 

[MysteriousBtrain]

I rather bump this thread than make a new thread to reply to this quote:

9 minutes ago, R68OnBroadway said:

My guess would be that the line would end at the Marine Air terminal and a light rail shuttle would connect all the terminals.

Honestly the setup for the LGA airtrain is just downright terrible. Honestly the best set up would be to move past Marine Terminal and either end in Harlem-125 St around 2 Av or Hunts Point not far from the , the former being a better connection to tourist areas, but more difficult to build.

[N6 Limited]

If it connected the airport with the ,  and went to Jamaica for the , LIRR and JFK Airtrain, that would be great.  

[CenSin]

2 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

If it connected the airport with the ,  and went to Jamaica for the , LIRR and JFK Airtrain, that would be great.  

The only ridiculous aspect of this system is that… you have to go out to the ends of the lines to catch the Airtrain: Mets–Willets Point (),  Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue (), Howard Beach () (pretty close to the end), or—in some far flung future—Astoria Boulevard (). And they’ll have to build that other leg of the Airtrain once it becomes apparent that those skinny IRT cars can’t carry all that airport traffic especially with the added loads between Flushing and Manhattan.

[officiallyliam]

3 minutes ago, CenSin said:

The only ridiculous aspect of this system is that… you have to go out to the ends of the lines to catch the Airtrain: Mets–Willets Point (),  Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue (), Howard Beach () (pretty close to the end), or—in some far flung future—Astoria Boulevard (). And they’ll have to build that other leg of the Airtrain once it becomes apparent that those skinny IRT cars can’t carry all that airport traffic especially with the added loads between Flushing and Manhattan.

Astoria Blvd may be near the end of the line, but it's only about 20 minutes from the hotel cluster near Times Square, compared with over 30 minutes coming from Willets Point or Jamaica; it's also far more convenient for accessing Long Island City and northern Brooklyn. Of all the possibilities of AirTrain to subway connections, Astoria Boulevard is without question the most superior. The only disadvantage is the lack of parking, but I'd posit that the shorter-distance travelers using LGA are less likely to have or need cars than many of the long-distance travelers coming from JFK.

[bobtehpanda]

2 hours ago, officiallyliam said:

Astoria Blvd may be near the end of the line, but it's only about 20 minutes from the hotel cluster near Times Square, compared with over 30 minutes coming from Willets Point or Jamaica; it's also far more convenient for accessing Long Island City and northern Brooklyn. Of all the possibilities of AirTrain to subway connections, Astoria Boulevard is without question the most superior. The only disadvantage is the lack of parking, but I'd posit that the shorter-distance travelers using LGA are less likely to have or need cars than many of the long-distance travelers coming from JFK.

Woodside and Jackson Heights are better, because the Astoria Line is only accessible from Manhattan.

Woodside has very short travel times to Penn and also intercepts passengers from the east arriving via the LIRR.

[officiallyliam]

17 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

Woodside and Jackson Heights are better, because the Astoria Line is only accessible from Manhattan.

Woodside has very short travel times to Penn and also intercepts passengers from the east arriving via the LIRR.

That's correct - I was also considering simplicity of construction. Other than the runway path obstruction, which can be solved by building the line at-grade for a bit, constructing an AirTrain from LGA to Astoria Blvd is pretty easy. Jackson Heights involves some amount of running above Broadway to hit the subway transfers; Woodside involves threading a new station in amongst the existing LIRR and  elevated stations. Neither of these are probably impossible, they're just not quite as easy.

[Gotham Bus Co.]

On 5/30/2018 at 7:18 PM, N6 Limited said:

If it connected the airport with the ,  and went to Jamaica for the , LIRR and JFK Airtrain, that would be great.  

 

That sounds like something Giuliani wanted to do 20 years ago. JFK riders would have paid $$$ for the privilege of taking a 10-mile detour through the wrong airport.

[N6 Limited]

15 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

 

That sounds like something Giuliani wanted to do 20 years ago. JFK riders would have paid $$$ for the privilege of taking a 10-mile detour through the wrong airport.

It probably would have had a LaGuardia stop where they could transfer for the train that goes to all the terminals.

[beelinefan]

A light rail line from Jamaica to LGA would be better.  It could include a branch to citi field to allow for people coming from eastern li who are taking the train to citi field to get there without having to go to woodside.

[R68OnBroadway]

10 minutes ago, beelinefan said:

A light rail line from Jamaica to LGA would be better.  It could include a branch to citi field to allow for people coming from eastern li who are taking the train to citi field to get there without having to go to woodside.

How about we extend Airtrain JFK to Astoria Blvd via the Van Wyck/ Grand Central? A wye could be placed at Jamaica. Doing this gives a link from Astoria Blvd to LGA, gives LI a link to LGA without going into Manhattan or Woodside, and also gives a connection between JFK and LGA. Two new lines would be created: LGA-JFK (bypasses Jamaica) and LGA- Jamaica. Stops would be built at Citi Field, terminals C/D, terminal B, terminal A, and Astoria Blvd.

[bobtehpanda]

On 6/1/2018 at 9:38 AM, R68OnBroadway said:

How about we extend Airtrain JFK to Astoria Blvd via the Van Wyck/ Grand Central? A wye could be placed at Jamaica. Doing this gives a link from Astoria Blvd to LGA, gives LI a link to LGA without going into Manhattan or Woodside, and also gives a connection between JFK and LGA. Two new lines would be created: LGA-JFK (bypasses Jamaica) and LGA- Jamaica. Stops would be built at Citi Field, terminals C/D, terminal B, terminal A, and Astoria Blvd.

The problem is sources of funding. AirTrain JFK was built using fees on airline tickets, which can't legally be used to build a train that does anything other than serve an airport.

More importantly, who is actually going to transfer between two airports? No city in the world does this, because you have to get through visa/customs/baggage, lug your shit to the other airport, and do it in reverse.

[CenSin]

9 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

The problem is sources of funding. AirTrain JFK was built using fees on airline tickets, which can't legally be used to build a train that does anything other than serve an airport.

It’s a problem on paper.