Overview

• The MTA board approved a $165.9 million contract with Jacobs/HDR to launch detailed engineering and environmental review for the 14-mile light rail line.
• The Interborough Express will convert the underused Bay Ridge Branch and Fremont Secondary freight corridors into a 19-station route between Roosevelt Avenue in Queens and the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
• Funded through the MTA’s $5.5 billion 2025–2029 capital plan, the project will link to 17 subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road and over 40 bus routes.
• Projected to serve about 200,000 riders daily, the IBX is designed to reduce cross-borough travel times to roughly 32–40 minutes end-to-end.
• After the two-year design phase, construction will proceed in phases toward an anticipated early-2030s launch of service.