A legislation has been signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo giving the go-ahead to build an elevated train to LaGuardia Airport. The only public transit that serves LaGuardia is a handful of bus routes that link to the New York subway and it currently does not have any rail service. The AirTrain would connect to the subway and LIRR, as buses currently do, covering a 1.5-mile stretch.
The governor said in a statement that this action marks another critical step toward making a mass-transit link between LaGuardia and Midtown Manhattan a reality, helping to reduce vehicular congestion and delays for passengers who are traveling from and to the airport. AirTrain LGA seeks to establish a convenient and reliable means of travel which will be less than 30-minute trips between the airport and Penn Station of New York or Grand Central Terminal. Rail access from all of Long Island via the LIRR will also be provided as well as the MTA’s 7 subway line. Presently, that trip takes about 50 minutes by public transit or about 35 minutes by car.
“The new LaGuardia Airport will provide an improved customer experience with better access to airlines and public transportation for all passengers — essential to the airport’s transformation,” Cuomo said. “AirTrain LGA will set an example of comprehensive transit infrastructure for the rest of the nation, and will pay dividends for decades by connecting riders to transit hubs across the Metropolitan area, boosting passenger growth across all airlines, and providing a more efficient means of travel for generations to come.”
The only major East Coast airport is LaGuardia and that too without a rail link.
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