Merging the Long Island Rail Road with the region’s other commuter rail systems is vital to supporting growth and improving access to jobs in the tri-state area, according to a report by the nonprofit Regional Plan Association (RPA), which proposes merging the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) with Metro-North and New Jersey Transit, making a crosstown commute from New Jersey to Long Island through New York City.
RPA estimates the costs to be at $71.4 billion, or $2.4 billion per year if the plan could actually be built out in 30 years. The three railroads combined offer 390 stations and over 2,000 miles of track, making it the nation’s largest and widest reaching commuter rail system.
The plan proposes adding 60 new stations and more than 200 new or reactivated track miles for a new rail system called the “Trans-Regional Express,” or T-REX for short.
To read the full report, click here.
