The MTA should design its planned Interborough Express (IBX) line as a fully automated system from the beginning in order to ensure it can accommodate its frequency and capacity needs without having to undergo a costly retrofit in the future, a new report from the Effective Transit Alliance (ETA) argues.

The report , shared first with amNewYork ahead of its Wednesday release, contends that as it puts together the draft environmental impact statement for the IBX — set to be released later this year — it should plan the line as an automated light metro (ALM) rather than light rail.

Full automation entails running trains entirely with technology, without any human train operator or conductor on board. By designing the IBX as an automated light metro — a model that utilizes driverless trains completely separated from the road, unlike light rail — from the outset, ETA insists it will be able to run more frequent service due to lower operating costs. More frequent service will allow for higher capacity, the report argues.

“Now it’s time for them to continue the good work and select the right technology for the line: automated light metro," said Blair Lorenzo, the ETA's executive director, in a statement. “Automation allows for frequent trains at all times of the day at a low cost.”

NYU's Marine Institute released its own study calling for full IBX automation last year. ETA says IBX can handle more riders with automation The IBX is a $5.5 billion project which involves the MTA utilizing existing freight rail lines between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and Jackson Heights, Queens to build a new 18-station light rail line. It promises to move passengers from end to end in 30 minutes and will connect to 17 subway lines.

By planning to build the IBX as an automated line from the beginning, ETA says, the MTA will be "future-proofing" it by ensuring that it can handle growing ridership over time. To underscore this point, the group cited how the IBX's projected ridership has already exploded by 82%, from 87,000 to 160,000 daily riders, since the project's initial 2022 feasibility study.

“Frequent service drives ridership on any line, and that is especially true for routes like the IBX, where many riders will be making transfers,” Lorenzo noted. The report notes that automation has become the "global standard" for newly built metro lines. Last year, 73% of newly built lines were fully automated. It is also already in use in New York, as the JFK AirTrain is fully automated.

Automation is less expensive than manual operation because the increased frequency allows the transit system to run smaller trains at smaller stations, according to the report. Shorter stations would mean the MTA could build the IBX at a reduced capital cost without sacrificing capacity.

It would also allow the MTA to run more frequent off-peak service on the IBX, the report says. That is due to the lower cost of running trains that are not staffed by unionized train operators and conductors, unlike most subway lines in New York City.

According to the report, MTA staff working on the IBX have "expressed a strong preference for automation." However, they believe the decision on automation ultimately lies with the MTA board.

Another complicating factor is the union representing MTA subway workers, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100. The union, which is currently negotiating a new contract with the MTA, has stood firmly against the agency's efforts to expand automation — by eliminating conductors — on existing subway lines. It has pushed legislation in recent years seeking to prevent the MTA from expanding the partial automation of its subways, known as one-person train control (OPTO).

The most recent bill to ban OPTO on most train lines passed both houses of the state legislature this year and is awaiting either approval or rejection from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

In its report, the ETA also urged the transit authority to build the IBX with platform screen doors to increase rider safety by mitigating against incidents of them jumping, falling, or being pushed onto the tracks. Furthermore, it recommends that the MTA use high-floor light metro trains instead of light rail vehicles for the IBX since there is no longer a plan to have the line run on the street.

“Both automation and ALM in particular are right for the IBX,” Lorenzo said. “And now is the right time for the MTA to commit to them.” About the Author Ethan Stark-Miller Ethan Stark-Miller is amNewYork's Transit Editor. He covers the MTA (including the subways and buses), the city Department of Transportation, and all other forms of getting around in the Big Apple. He previously covered politics for amNY.

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