MTA releases $68.4 billion proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has released its proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan, outlining a $68.4 billion investment in the region’s subways, buses, railroads, bridges and tunnels during the next five years that ensures New Yorkers continue to have access to reliable, accessible and sustainable transit.

The Capital Plan includes targeted investments to rebuild, improve and expand the MTA system. The plan will enable the MTA to continue to provide frequent and reliable service by putting the system on a path to state of good repair, including investments in railcars, power and signals. The plan will also improve the customer experience, with investments in accessibility, stations and modern fare gates and take action on climate change, including resilience and sustainability initiatives.

The proposed Capital Plan assumes a fully funded 2020-2024 Capital Plan and looks ahead to the next slate of vital improvement projects, informed by the Twenty-Year Needs Assessment.

“This Capital Plan was developed by the most comprehensive analysis the MTA has ever undertaken to truly understand the needs of the system, the challenges and opportunities,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “After years of underinvestment, more than 90 percent of this proposed plan – the largest in MTA history – focuses on bringing the system to a state of good repair. These investments are necessary to serve the following generations and the future of the region’s economy, environment and social and economic equity.”

“The new MTA’s approach to capital construction is allowing us to deliver projects better, faster and cheaper,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “From planning to development to construction, we will keep innovating and driving costs down as we implement the vital investments outlined in this Capital Plan.”

Building the 2025-2029 plan

MTA notes the proposed 2025-29 Capital Plan begins to scale investment to match the $1.5 trillion system, focusing on increasing the pace in certain categories to catch up with decades of underinvestment. A third-party evaluation carried out by JP Morgan determined that for the MTA to maintain a capital investment level comparable to private industry peers, the authority would need to invest $23 billion annually – more than twice the already accelerated pace.

The authority says that while continuing the pace in other areas like accessibility, signal modernization, station renovations, track upgrades and customer experience and technology developments, the proposed plan focuses on areas in need of urgent investment:

Rolling stock: An aging fleet leads to increases in breakdowns and cascading delays. MTA says cars last about 40 years before reaching the end of their useful life. There are two subway car models (R62 and R68) and one railroad model (M3) reaching the end of their useful life.
Grand Central Artery: The agency notes much of the structure that supports the Grand Central Artery is in poor or marginal condition, putting Metro-North Railroad service reliability greatly at risk. Grand Central Artery includes the Grand Central Terminal building, the Train Shed, the Park Avenue Tunnel and the Park Avenue Viaduct.
Structures: MTA says there are thousands of structural defects that need to be addressed at subway tunnels, bridges and viaducts to avoid closures.
Power: The authority notes aging power systems are a major vulnerability to the reliability of service. Power incidents delay an average of more than 30 trains in the subway system. Across the entire network, subway and railroads, more than 200 substations are in poor or marginal condition and need repair.
Resilience: According to MTA, significant portions of the system are vulnerable to climate change’s impacts. Key challenges include fortifying the system against rising temperatures, rising sea levels and heavy rainfall.
Sustainability: The agency says 50 percent of its direct carbon emissions come from diesel buses. Purchases of zero-emissions buses and continued investments in bus depots for charging infrastructure will improve air quality throughout the region.
Shops and yards: MTA says aging facilities threaten regular service with outdated equipment and structures in state of disrepair. Some shops like the Livonia Yard need to be reconfigured to service new models of subway cars and meet the demand of a growing fleet.

New York City (NYC) subway

“Investments in new railcars and more zero-emissions buses will be a major upgrade to service, the environment and the customer experience,” said NYC Transit Interim President Demetrius Crichlow. “This plan balances addressing the structural needs of the system and maintains the pace to increased accessibility and by upgrading Depression-era signals on eight subway lines to modern CBTC, this plan will transform subway service, making it faster and more reliable for hundreds of thousands of riders."

Rolling stock: 1,500 new subway cars will join the subway fleet, modernizing the customer environment and improving service reliability. MTA notes older subway models reaching or passing their 40 years of service have a mean distance between failure (MDBF) of 40,000 miles, whereas the newer models have an MDBF of 250,000 miles.
Signal modernization: MTA notes replacement of decades-old mechanical signals with Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) technology across more than 75 miles will provide faster and more reliable service. These lines include: Broadway N, Q, R, W, Liberty Avenue A, Rockaways A, S and Nassau Street J, Z. Subway lines with CBTC installed have seen 90 percent-plus on-time performance.
Upgrade maintenance facilities: To ensure MTA can service a 21st century fleet and prevent major service disruptions, the MTA plans to redesign and rebuild the Livonia Shop in Brooklyn and 240th St. Shop in the Bronx, which service trains that run on the 1 and 3 lines and 42nd St. S Shuttle.
Substation upgrades: The traction power system delivers electric power to the trains for propulsion. According to MTA, a full overhaul of substations or targeted component replacement at more than 60 locations, along with rehabilitation of 30 circuit breaker houses, will ensure continued service reliability.
Station accessibility: The proposed plan calls for at least 60 more stations to be made ADA-accessible and 45 subway station elevators to be replaced. Altogether, this will ensure that nearly 70 percent of all subway rides will take place to or from accessible stations.
Station enhancements: The proposed plan increases the pace of investment in subway stations and the hidden infrastructure that supports them. More than 150 stations will benefit from priority repairs, upgrades to customer communications and enhanced security cameras while 10 stations will be fully renovated and platform fencing will be installed at 100 stations. The authority adds the fiber-optic cable network that is the backbone for all customer-facing technology will also be upgraded at an accelerated pace.
Modern fare gates: At more than 150 subway stations, modern fare gates with more accessible, secure gates will be installed. New generation fare gates feature wide paneled doors and sensor technology to prevent fare evasion while making it easy for people – including those with accessibility needs – to pass through.
Resiliency: The proposed plan will make the system more resilient against stormwater flooding by adding flood protection devices at street-level openings, elevate stairs and vents and seal tunnel leaks with grouting to reduce stormwater from entering stations and tunnels.

NYC buses

The proposed plan builds on the efforts already underway of transitioning the agency’s bus fleet to zero emissions by purchasing an additional 500 zero-emissions buses and continue outfitting bus depots for charging. By the end of the proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan, 20 percent of buses will be electric and avoid approximately 32,500 metric tons of carbon emissions every year, representing the largest component of the MTA’s goal to reduce agencywide operating emissions 85 percent by 2040.

Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)

“The LIRR has seen a historic level of investment in recent years and this next capital plan will continue building on those efforts with key priority projects that aren’t necessarily visible to the naked eye but critical for the operation of the system,” said MTA LIRR President Rob Free. “Structural improvements and the purchase of new railcars will complement our ongoing initiatives of enhancing the customer experience to provide a better and more seamless commute.”

Rolling stock: The purchase of new railcars will replace existing fleet that is past its useful life, including the retirement of the 1980s-era M3 cars. MTA notes it will also include the purchase of new dual-mode locomotives and the start of the replacement of aging coaches.
Improvements to the Hillside Maintenance Facility: According to the authority, most of the rolling stock support equipment located within the Hillside Maintenance Facility has not been replaced since the facility opened in the late 1980s. Upgrades to the shop will ensure trains can be efficiently and properly stored, inspected and maintained.
Power system improvements: MTA notes 16 substations will be replaced or renewed. According to the authority, substation condition and capacity are the most critical elements within the power asset category, as they convert electricity from the electrical grid to the proper current to provide a stable flow of power from the substations to the third rail, enabling electric train cars to move.
Accessibility: The LIRR will achieve 98 percent accessibility making at least four more stations accessible as proposed in the Capital Plan, including Bellerose, Douglaston and Cold Spring Harbor and more.

Metro-North Railroad

“Extensive state of good repair projects in the Grand Central Artery, as well as resiliency projects along Metro-North’s Hudson Line, will ensure Metro-North can keep providing safe and reliable service,” said Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “This Capital Plan recognizes the growing risks that parts of the Metro-North system will face in the era of climate change and it is imperative we take proactive measures to strengthen the system and address deteriorating assets.”

Rebuilding the Grand Central Artery: MTA notes the four-mile stretch is critical for the more than 200,000 daily Metro-North customers traveling through the tunnel, as well as the thousands of cars and people that travel on Park Avenue daily. The proposed plan heavily focuses investment for major renovations to structural supports and facilities and continued replacement of the train shed roof to ensure the Grand Central Artery’s next 100 years, along with investments to the Park Avenue Tunnel and Grand Central Terminal itself.
Fortifying the Hudson Line: More than 50 percent of the 74-mile-long line is vulnerable to coastal surge risk and torrential rains exacerbate landslide risks in areas where tracks are adjacent to steep slopes. The proposed plan focuses on addressing erosion hot spots, stabilizing upland slopes and upgrading drainage in the most vulnerable and highest-ridership segments of the line, protecting more than 20 miles of the Hudson Line.
Stations: MTA says a major focus of the plan is addressing a backlog of state of good repair needs for Metro-North stations. The plan will replace and rehabilitate deteriorating station platforms and other major station components, especially at Harlem Line Stations with decaying hollow-core platforms that urgently require reconstruction.
Power upgrades: Upgrading the traction power system with new power substations will improve reliability and enable Metro-North to run more trains across its network.
Rolling stock: The purchase of new railcars will replace existing fleet that is past its useful life, including the retirement of the 1980s-era M3 cars. It will also include the purchase of new locomotives for West of Hudson service.
Accessibility: The plan proposes to make at least two Metro-North stations accessible: Ludlow and Wakefield Station on the Hudson Line.

Bridges and Tunnels

“This plan will continue investments targeting rehabilitation of these iconic structures,” said MTA Bridges & Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan. “With over 335 million vehicles crossing MTA’s bridges and tunnels in 2023 – the highest annual traffic volume in 87 years – making safety and system improvements remains a priority to ensure the facilities continue to serve regional transportation demands.”

Extending the life of critical structures: The proposed plan focuses heavily on investments for structural repairs and upgrades necessary to extend the life of major crossings, including the dehumidification of the main cables at the Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, necessary structural repairs at all nine bridges and tunnels and installment of weigh-in-motion systems to enforce illegal overweight truck usage of the bridges.
Safety upgrades: Safety investments in the plan include the installation of a fixed fire suppression system in the tunnels, upgrades to the electronic security system at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and traffic signage upgrades on several bridges.
Resiliency improvements: MTA says upgrading the power systems with new substations at the Throgs Neck Bridge, Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and Queens Midtown Tunnel will ensure power reliability for critical operational and life safety systems at those facilities.

System expansion

The Interborough Express (IBX): The plan proposes to start work to complete design and begin construction on the transformative project that will significantly cut travel times and increase mobility options between Brooklyn and Queens, where 900,000 residents live within half a mile of the proposed IBX.
Capacity improvements: The Capital Plan will take a closer look into commuter railroad infrastructure to look for opportunities to implement improvements that would create additional capacity, respond to changing populations and land-use patterns and enhance regional rail network. Projects to be analyzed include electrification of the LIRR Main Line to Yaphank, improvements to the Port Jefferson and Montauk Branches, adding a third track to the Metro-North Harlem Line and connecting Hudson Line service to Penn Station.

Next steps

The MTA Board will vote on the plan at the September board meeting on Sept. 25. A board-approved Capital Plan must then be submitted to the MTA Capital Program Review Board by Oct. 1, which has 30 days to review and approve the plan. In mid-October, the MTA will kick off a series of open houses around the New York region and a public education campaign to inform and engage New Yorkers on the capital plan. MTA says it will work with partners in local, state and federal government to ensure that the proposed capital plan is fully funded.