ICYMI: Governor Hochul Unveils Plan to Reimagine Jamaica Station and Advance Second Avenue Subway Westward Expansion

State Would Commit $50 Million To Advance Design Phase to Reimagine Jamaica Station; Critical Transit Hub Is Fourth Busiest Rail Station in North America, Serving 200,000 Daily Riders

MTA Would Begin Preliminary Engineering and Design To Extend Second Avenue Subway Tunnel Westward Across 125 St to Broadway, Saving Project Costs and Time

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced her plan to advance two significant transit projects to improve New Yorkers' commutes as part of her 2026 State of the State. As part of the Governor's FY27 Executive Budget, she will propose $50 million to fund the design of a reimagined Jamaica Station, better integrating Subway, Long Island Rail Road and AirTrain service for the 200,000 daily riders who pass through this transit hub every day. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have already begun a joint effort to coordinate this project. In addition, Governor Hochul will propose building on her investment in the FY25 Enacted Budget funding a feasibility study for westward expansion of the Second Avenue Subway by advancing the preliminary engineering and design process to continue tunneling across 125 Street to Broadway. According to the MTA's 20 Year Needs Assessment, this proposed expansion would have a daily ridership of nearly 240,000 and would save riders over 30 minutes of travel time each week on average.

"New Yorkers deserve a world-class transit system," Governor Hochul said. "By advancing projects like the Second Avenue Subway and reimagining Jamaica Station, we're building on past investments to deliver more reliable, efficient, and modern transit options for riders today and for generations to come."

Reimagining Jamaica Station for the Millions of Commuters Who Depend On It

Jamaica Station is integral to the commutes of millions of New Yorkers, enabling workers and students in Queens to get to school and jobs, allowing travelers to get to and from Long Island, ensuring travelers from around the world can efficiently and affordably get to JFK Airport, and connecting New Yorkers to world-class sporting and entertainment events. More than 1,000 trains and 200,000 passengers transit Jamaica Station every weekday, making it the fourth busiest commuter rail station in North America - surpassed only by Grand Central Station, Penn Station and Toronto's Union Station. Yet Jamaica Station has been left far behind in terms of customer experience and investment; it was last upgraded 23 years ago, when the AirTrain JFK began operation in 2003.

To modernize Jamaica Station into the world-class station experience it deserves to be, Governor Hochul is taking the next step to design a reimagined Jamaica Station. The reimagined Jamaica Station will help create better traffic flow, reduce crowding, and build out a world class station complex providing seamless connection between the LIRR Main Line, NYC Transit, and AirTrain JFK for the millions of commuters who depend on it.

Advancing the Second Avenue Subway Crosstown Expansion Project To Improve Commutes for New Yorkers

In her 2024 State of the State address, the Governor proposed a bold and innovative solution to enhance the potential of one of the most promising expansion projects in the MTA's service area - extending the line west along 125th Street, with three new stops at Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, and culminating at Broadway. Governor Hochul funded a feasibility study which found that it is not only possible to extend the Second Avenue Subway line construction west to Broadway, serving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, but that performing the tunneling work as a follow-on to the current East Harlem extension would save substantial time and money.

Governor Hochul will support the next phase of this project with funding for design and preliminary engineering to advance tunneling across 125th Street. The extension along 125th Street will improve commutes for millions of New Yorkers, save significant time for commuters benefiting from intersections with seven north-south subway lines across Manhattan, and connect underserved communities to jobs.

Today's announcement builds on Governor Hochul's record of investing in New York's infrastructure and improving its transit system over the last year, which include:

• Awarding major construction contracts to dig the tunnels for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 to East Harlem
• Breaking ground on the New Midtown Bus Terminal Project after decades of failed attempts to advance redevelopment
• Beginning the engineering and design phase of the Interborough Express (IBX)
• Fully funding the MTA's historic 2025-2029 Capital Plan, which commits $68 billion to modernize, improve and expand transit across the New York City region
• Successfully launching New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program, which in one year has reduced traffic, cut pollution, made streets safer, and generated revenues for critical transit upgrades
• Completing several milestones in the transformative I-81 Viaduct project in Syracuse
• Advanced the project to reimagine I-787 in Albany into the Environmental Review phase