12 MARCH 17, 2022 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
The train to the plane
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 traffi c 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
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The Port Authority and Governor Kathy Hochul are now examining other options for a rail connection to
LaGuardia. Photo via governor’s offi ce
LaGuardia Airport travelers would be
doomed to a similar fate under a Cuomoera
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 LaGuardia’s
runways in order to accommodate lowfl
ying aircraft .
The end result of such a project, however,
would fi nally 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,
traffi c-free, one-seat 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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