RPA Proposes $71B Plan to Merge Metro North, LIRR, NJ Transit

The RPA states that the number of commuters traveling daily from the suburbs into Manhattan could grow as much as 34% in the next 25 years, which is way over the capacity of the current system.

NEW YORK CITY—The Regional Plan Association has released a report that calls for the $71.4-billion merger of regional MTA train lines—the Long Island Rail Road, Metro North and New Jersey Transit—to form the Trans-Regional Express, an integrated regional rail network.

The merged regional commuter rail network, named T-REX for short, would take 30-years to complete and require an annual investment of $2.4 billion over and above the investment required by the MTA, New York and New Jersey to fund the controversial $39-billion NEC Future program that includes the Gateway project and the additional tracks five and six between North Brunswick, NJ and Green’s Farms, CT, the RPA states in its report.