Subway Rescue Plan Wins New York Times Editorial Board Support

The New York Times Editorial Board has written in support of the Fast Forward plan, announced recently by New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford, that would repair the beleaguered MTA subway system in ten years.

While the editorial board calls the plan great relief, it also includes a disclaimer: "now the only question is how long it’ll take for Mr. Cuomo and other leaders to get behind this ambitious proposal and come up with the money to get the job done."

The editorial board describes the Fast Forward plan in more detail, and describes in frank terms the current state of the New York subway and its many components—from signaling to rolling stock to access for riders with special needs. But one of the most important improvements suggested in the Fast Forward plan, according to the editorial, has more to with operations than infrastructure:

…the most important part of Mr. Byford’s plan entails overhauling how the transit system buys equipment, hires contractors, negotiates with unions and manages big projects. The M.T.A. won’t accomplish a fraction of what’s in Fast Forward if it uses the same approach officials have applied in building the first phase of the Second Avenue line or East Side Access…

While Planetizen previously shared an article that estimated the cost of the plan at $19 billion, the editorial says Byford hasn't committed to a cost estimate, and unnamed experts place the potential cost at $40 billion.