The $5.5 billion Interborough Express, a planned 14-mile light rail line linking the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs of New York City, took a key step forward with the award of a design and engineering contract, according to a news release from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority picked a joint venture composed of Omaha, Nebraska-based HDR and Dallas-headquartered Jacobs to oversee the project’s design and engineering phase, per the release.
The new commuter line, dubbed the IBX, will connect historically underserved communities in Brooklyn and Queens to each other and to the subway, bus and Long Island Rail Road systems, per the release. It is expected to reduce travel times by 30 minutes in either direction.
Hochul proposed the project back in 2022, when commuting pattern data showed that fewer people were commuting into and out of Manhattan, Time Out reported. She approved $2.75 billion for the project in April as part of the 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan.
“Building the Interborough Express will transform New York, connecting communities like never before, shortening commutes and unleashing the full potential of Brooklyn and Queens,” Hochul said in the release. “The IBX is the sort of project that future generations will describe as a no-brainer.”
The IBX will have 19 stations and connect to 17 different subway lines, per the release. It will be built on an existing right-of-way on a freight line and marks the first new end-to-end rapid transit constructed entirely within New York City since the IND Crosstown Line, now called the G, opened in 1937.
Design work will officially kick off this summer, focusing on communication and signal systems, vehicles and tracks. Civil engineering efforts will include station and retaining wall plans, bridge reconstruction and design of the operations facility and storage yard, per the release. This phase marks the last major step before formal construction begins.
