Photograph of MTA CEO and Executive Director Lee Sander during the inaugural State of the MTA Address, courtesy of the MTA This morning, the first-ever State of the MTA Address was given, with MTA CEO and Executive Director Elliot Sander Sander emphasizing the MTA was born 40 years ago out of crisis and needed federal, state, and municipal cooperation to get things done (in other words, nothing changes!). Sander said he's committed to creating......

Graphic explaining trend of train delays from the MTA's capital plan presentation The MTA unveiled its 2008-2013 Capital Plan, which explained almost $30 billion will be needed to improve mass transit and complete projects like the Second Avenue Subway, the East Side Access plan and more by 2030 (many of those projects will also be delayed). Though the current MTA capital plan doesn't expire until next year, the MTA presented this plan because the......

The art group collected under the name Flux Factory is being pushed out of their Queens warehouse gallery to make way for the MTA's $6.3 billion East Side Access project. Currently there is an amazingly intricate group installation being housed in the gallery called New York New York New York which the group describes as "a New York City that is the forgotten past and the fantastic future all at once. A New York City......

Last week, the Senate passed the Transportation Appropriations Bill that includes some big bucks for NYC mass transit projects. There's $125 million for the Second Avenue Subway, plus another $200 million for the East Side Access Project (LIRR connection to Grand Central). Senator Chuck Schumer said, "The Second Ave. subway line will provide desperately needed relief to the severely stressed Lexington line," while Senator Hillary Clinton said, "Now that the ground has been broken......

Via Curbed, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center put together an interesting presentation outlining logistics of downtown projects as well as projects in the region (here's a PDF). The logistics issues are concrete, steel, and labor demand, as well as worker transportation and security. There are some great graphs that show how many projects, including the World Trade Center, East Side Access, MTA projects, the Atlantic Yards, etc., will all compete for materials and......

Yesterday, the MTA lowered the first of many parts of the Tunnel Boring Machine into the lower level of the 63rd Street tunnel as part of the MTA’s East Side Access project. The lowering itself could have been dismissed by passersby as just some sort of generic routine construction work, but it was much more than just moving a boring machine. When finally assembled in about two months, the 600-ton automated Spanish-owned and Italian-made......

This map isn't necessarily brand new, but it is a nice look at the MTA's big East Side Access project, which will connect the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal. amNew York (which has a gallery) and the NY Times visited the tunnel near 63rd Street and 2nd Avenue, where parts for the tunnel boring machine are being delivered. The TBM will then drill through rock to extend an existing tunnel to Grand Central. Fun......

Now that MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow has announced his resignation, the newspapers are assessing his tenure. And the verdict is that Kalikow did usher the MTA into an era of high ridership and capital improvement and help ed set up many big projects (Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access). But he also oversaw the agency during the transit strike. The Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff tells the NY Times, "He ended up with probably what was......

MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow announced that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of the MTA. Kalikow, who was appointed by then Governor George Pataki back in 2001, was reappointed to a 6-year term last summer, which suggested there might be battles ahead between him and new governor Eliot Spitzer. But at the end of 2006, Kalikow said he would step down during the second quarter of this year, after finishing up......

Yesterday's Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking was notable for a few things: First of all, as we all know by now, it's was the fourth groundbreaking - three occurred in the 1970s, so yesterday's event was an introduction to the pomp and pageantry of subway groundbreakings for many of us. Second, it was pouring. When it rains at weddings, some people say that's lucky (though we suspect it's just to make the couple feel better).......

The federal government has approved $2.6 billion in funding for the East Side Access project. The project would link the LIRR and Grand Central, in an effort to relieve congestion at Penn Station as well as cross-town congestion. NY1 reports that the "deal is being called the single largest transit investment in American history." Governor Pataki and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signed the "Full Funding Grant Agreement" at Grand Central. Pataki said,......

Five different riders' groups - the Straphangers Campaign, the Empire State Passengers Association, the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility in New York, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers and the Lackawanna Coalition in New Jersey - sent a letter to NYC officials citing concerns that plans for railways and a commuter terminal are dangerous. The MTA and NJ Transit are planning new tunnels and a station that are 100-150 feet underground, and the natural......

When we hear things like, "and there...a city lies within a city" we get pretty excited. When the city within the city is Grand Central Terminal, we set the DVR right away. Tonight on the National Geographic Channel, Inside Grand Central airs at 8pm. When we used to commute through GCT everyday for a few years, we always knew there was more to it than we were seeing. Tonight's show will bring us beyond the......

Finally, the MTA is admitting that the Second Avenue Subway will be delayed for "at least two years." At an MTA meeting, Mysore L. Nagaraja, the president of the MTA's capital construction (which sounds like a cool but terribly frustrating job) announced this news, saying that the transit bond that voters will vote on this fall will affect the plans; Governor Pataki and the State did not give the MTA even half of the $7.9......

Let's go over some of the major money-related MTA stories: - MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow says a Metricard fare hike is necessary. The last we remember, the fare hike would affect discounted Metrocards (yes, your unlimited weekly and monthly cards), but the article says the hike would increase fares by 14%...maybe that's in the discounted card revenue. Anyway, the MTA is still planning for the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and No 7.......