By: Russ Spencer

The Interborough Express (IBX), a long-envisioned rail project to directly link Brooklyn and Queens, has reached a milestone that marks its most tangible progress to date. Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday that the design and engineering phase will officially begin this summer, ushering in what many transportation experts are calling the most significant expansion of New York City’s rapid transit system in nearly a century.

As reported by VIN News, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has tapped engineering firms Jacobs and HDR to oversee the technical design of the project. Their work will focus on creating a 14-mile light rail line along an existing freight corridor between Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Jackson Heights in Queens. For decades, city planners have debated ways to improve direct transit between these two boroughs, and the IBX represents the first serious step toward realizing that vision.

Governor Hochul emphasized the project’s far-reaching potential, particularly for underserved neighborhoods. “The Interborough Express will transform how New Yorkers travel across boroughs,” Hochul said. “It’s about connecting communities, reducing commute times, and unlocking the full potential of Brooklyn and Queens.”

The report at VIN News noted that the IBX will feature 19 new stations and connect with 17 subway lines, 50 bus routes, and two Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stations. Once in operation, the line is expected to cut end-to-end travel time to just 32 minutes, shaving as much as half an hour off many commutes that currently require indirect travel through Manhattan.

Projected ridership is equally striking. The IBX is expected to serve 160,000 passengers per day, amounting to 48 million trips annually. According to the information provided in the VIN News report, those numbers would make the IBX more heavily used than any existing light rail system in the United States.

The engineering process set to begin this summer will encompass far more than track alignment. As VIN News has reported, design teams will plan the line’s signal and communication systems, bridges, and a dedicated operations yard. Station architecture will also be central to the project, with officials aiming to build modern, accessible facilities capable of serving diverse neighborhoods across Brooklyn and Queens.

Among the more complex components of the design is a tunnel planned beneath Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village. This underground passage is intended to bypass potential street-level conflicts that could cause service delays. Not only does this innovation streamline travel times, but it also strengthens the ridership projections by ensuring consistent and reliable operations.

The IBX carries an estimated price tag of $5.5 billion. Roughly half of this total has been secured through the MTA’s current capital plan, while the remainder will depend on a mix of state, city, and federal contributions.

Funding for the design and engineering phase has already been lined up, including $45 million from the state’s 2025 budget and $15 million from the federal RAISE grant program. While the design stage accounts for only a fraction of the overall cost, officials emphasize that securing these funds is a crucial step in demonstrating commitment and momentum for the broader project.

The announcement was met with strong praise from both state and local officials. Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi described the IBX as “a once-in-a-generation investment that will connect communities and transform lives.”

Community organizations have similarly highlighted the project’s promise for historically underserved neighborhoods. By creating a direct rail link between Brooklyn and Queens, the IBX will provide much-needed alternatives for commuters who have long endured circuitous routes through Manhattan. VIN News has reported that transit advocates believe this could reduce car dependency and alleviate traffic congestion in central Brooklyn and northern Queens, two areas where limited subway access has been a persistent challenge.

The IBX represents a break with nearly nine decades of limited new construction in the city’s subway system. As the report at VIN News observed, it will be the first end-to-end rapid transit line built entirely within New York City since 1937, when the IND Crosstown Line—the G train—was completed.

Since that time, subway expansions have largely been piecemeal. The Second Avenue Subway, perhaps the most infamous example, was first proposed in the 1920s and only saw its initial segment open in 2017 after decades of delays and funding obstacles. By contrast, the IBX is being presented as a practical, attainable project that leverages existing infrastructure to keep costs and disruptions comparatively lower.

Transit historians note that proposals for a Brooklyn-Queens rail link date back to at least the mid-20th century. Ideas to repurpose the existing freight corridor were floated multiple times but never advanced beyond preliminary studies. What distinguishes the IBX, according to the report at VIN News, is the combination of strong political support, federal funding, and a clear public mandate for improved cross-borough connections.

Despite the optimism, the project is not without challenges. Coordination with freight rail operators who currently use the corridor will be essential, and environmental reviews will require careful planning to address community concerns.

The VIN News report pointed out that construction costs in New York City are among the highest in the world, raising questions about whether the $5.5 billion estimate will hold steady as the project progresses. Past megaprojects, such as the East Side Access project linking the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal, ballooned far beyond initial cost projections and took decades to complete.

Nevertheless, planners argue that by utilizing an existing freight corridor rather than building new rights-of-way, the IBX has a stronger chance of avoiding some of the pitfalls that plagued earlier projects.

The IBX’s projected ridership underscores its transformative potential. With 160,000 daily riders, the line will rival some of the city’s most heavily used subway routes. Transit experts cited by VIN News believe the project could serve as a national model for rethinking urban rail by adapting underutilized freight infrastructure for passenger use.

The IBX could also reshape economic geography within New York City. By connecting job centers in Brooklyn and Queens without requiring detours through Manhattan, the project may encourage new patterns of employment, residential development, and commerce. Transit-oriented development near the proposed stations is expected to follow, particularly in neighborhoods such as East Flatbush, Bushwick, and Corona.

For many, the symbolic weight of the IBX is nearly as important as its practical benefits. In a city where large-scale transit expansions have become rare, the IBX stands as proof that new projects of this scale are still possible. The report at VIN News emphasized that the line will be the first significant addition to the city’s rapid transit network in nearly a century—a fact that lends it historic resonance.

Urban planners see the project as a necessary pivot away from Manhattan-centric transit planning, broadening the scope of the subway system to reflect the city’s evolving demographics and economic realities. Brooklyn and Queens, with their combined population of nearly five million, represent more than half of New York City’s residents, yet their direct transit connections remain limited.

The design and engineering phase is expected to take several years, after which the project will move into procurement and construction. Public engagement will be central to this process. The MTA has committed to conducting community consultations to ensure that station locations and designs align with neighborhood needs while minimizing displacement and disruption.

If construction proceeds as planned, the IBX could open within the next decade, though officials have refrained from setting a firm completion date given the complexity of the undertaking.

Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement that the Interborough Express will begin its design phase this summer represents a pivotal development for New York City. By directly linking Brooklyn and Queens for the first time in history, the IBX is poised to cut commutes, ease congestion, and reshape how millions of residents move across the city.

As VIN News reported, the IBX is not only a transportation project but also a symbol of renewed investment in New York’s future. With ridership projections surpassing those of any existing U.S. light rail system and with the historic distinction of being the city’s first entirely new rapid transit line since 1937, the IBX carries both immense promise and immense responsibility.

The coming years of design and engineering will test whether that promise can be realized, but for now, the project’s trajectory offers New Yorkers a glimpse of a more interconnected city—one that reflects the demands and aspirations of the 21st century.