The Port Authority and Governor Kathy Hochul are now examining other options for a rail connection to LaGuardia Airport. Photo via governor’s offi ce
THE TRAIN TO THE PLANE
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TIMESLEDGER | Q 12 NS.COM | MARCH 18 - MARCH 24, 2022
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EDITORIAL
Older New Yorkers may remember
the catchy jingle for
the MTA’s JFK Express, the
long-defunct special subway
line through Manhattan, Brooklyn
and Queens that connected travelers
to Kennedy Airport.
“Take the train to the plane,” the
famous refrain goes for the 1980s-era
relic. In truth, you couldn’t take a oneseat
ride to and from the airport. You
had to transfer at the Howard Beach
station on the A line to a shuttle bus
that dropped you off at the terminal of
your choice.
The JFK Express never made
enough money or garnered enough
riders for the MTA to keep the line in
existence, and it was phased out in the
early 1990s.
Years later, the Port Authority built
the AirTrain to connect JFK travelers
to subway stations at Howard Beach
and Jamaica. It’s a great convenience
for travelers looking to avoid a costly,
plodding cab ride on the traffic jam
that is the Van Wyck Expressway —
but it still deprives them of a one-seat
ride to the airport.
Up until late last year, it appeared
as if LaGuardia Airport travelers
would be doomed to a similar fate
under a Cuomo-era plan to build an
AirTrain from the northern Queens
hub to train stations in Willets Point.
But the Port Authority and Governor
Kathy Hochul ultimately went back to
the drawing board, and are now examining
other options for a rail connection
to LaGuardia.
One idea makes all the sense in the
world: extending the Astoria Line,
which carries the N/W train through
northwestern Queens, about 2 ½ miles
east along the Grand Central Parkway
to the airport.
Building a new elevated structure
above the Grand Central Parkway
would provide the path of least resistance
for the government, as it would
limit new land acquisitions for the
project. There would be additional
expense involved in constructing an
at-grade section of the subway near La-
Guardia’s runways in order to accommodate
low-flying aircraft.
The end result of such a project,
however, would finally connect New
York City’s most reliable public transit
system with a major airport. It opens
the door for travelers in Queens, Manhattan
and Brooklyn to simply spend
the $2.75 base fare for a fast, convenient,
hassle-free, traffic-free, oneseat
ride to LaGuardia.
Connecting the subway to LaGuardia
would be a major boon for New
York City tourism and business. It’ll
help ease congestion on roadways in
and around the airport, and even make
the air a little cleaner as a result.
It’s time for the state, the MTA and
the Port Authority to make this vision
a reality. Then they can tell travelers
to “take the train to the plane,” and
actually mean it!
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