Next Stop The Bronx
Rendering MTA
It's insane to me that the Triboro Line became the (IBX.) A plan to connect all of the outer boroughs has become a plan to only connect two. While necessary to connect Queens to Brooklyn it's not lost on me that the two chosen are known for being gentrified and the other is known for its poverty.
Original idea for the project
Originally the Triborough train was supposed to connect these boroughs together making the compute from one to the other more simple. This would solve the problem of commuters having to go to Manhattan in order to reach parts of the city that on the map were geographically closer. I change from the Manhattan-centric subway system. For the Bronx, this would have been easy access to jobs in Brooklyn but also easier access to the two airports in Queens.
When they pitched the severing the Bronx from the plan they gave the excuse that the (Hells Gate Bridge) could not take the traffic. And with the coming Metro North service there wasn’t a need for it. But these new stations would be far more costly for commuters than an IBX expansion.
So let's give a solution. With the Hells Gate Bridge, there's nothing wrong with expanding the number of tracks. Our transit shouldn’t be held back by keeping a hundred-year-old bridge the same. Or since they have made the decision to make it light rail instead of heavy rail way not take advantage of that. Light rail doesn’t have to run on a railway like a normal subway does. It can run on regular street, grass or freeway. So why not run through Randell’s island? And a Randell's Island station would be lovely. You can also take two or three lanes from the RFK. Sacrificing three lanes for a more efficient and economically generative form of transportation is a no duh. Especially for a state that wants to lower green house gas and bring equatable transit.
But the biggest concern in the Bronx is overloaded rails that hold Amtrack, freight, and soon Metro-North service. But if only the Bronx had an abandoned rail line that ran both underground and could be used for the project. Oh wait there is one.
This is the Port Morris branch. An older freight rail line that sat abandoned for years. Some of the sections have been filled in with new structures. But this can be remedied by using a small portion from Hunts Point to Westchers Ave and St. Anne Street. This would connect it to the 2,5 & 6 train.
In fact, that specific spot on the 2 & 5 line was built as a train station before that was removed in the last century. So the space for a station is there and it can easily be connected to the underground tunnel that exists below. This station would be close to the hub a major business district in the Bronx.
Another option is to simple connect it to 149st third Ave station which is just one block away. Truly reviling the name The Hub.
Ultimately this isn’t impossible or even difficult if you see the advantages of light rail. What does matter is the will in Albany to care about the Bronx which they have a habit of ignoring.