NEW YORK, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Enacted Budget to fully fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) $68.4 billion 2025-29 Capital Plan — a move that represents the largest investment in New York State’s transportation history.
“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York, and our investments in this century-old system will ensure it can thrive for years to come,” Hochul said. “For too long, leaders had ignored the needs of straphangers and underfunded public transit. When I took office we changed that approach — and now, we’re making long-overdue investments to keep this system strong.”
“The Governor and legislature have been great supporters of MTA riders and understand the importance of mass transit to New York’s economy," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. "An extraordinary effort went into identifying what needs to be done to maintain the $1.5 trillion asset that is our region’s transportation network. The women and men of the MTA look forward to getting to work on important capital projects that deliver on the Governor’s vision and ensure that New Yorkers keep moving for decades to come.”
The investment will enable the MTA to:
- Start construction of the new Interborough Express, a new rapid transit service between Brooklyn and Queens, New York
- Rehabilitate the Grand Central Artery, a 4-mile stretch that carries 98 percent of all Metro-North service
- Purchase thousands of new subway and rail cars
- Modernize signals to provide faster, more frequent, and more reliable service
- Upgrade maintenance facilities
- Renew electric power systems to enhance reliability
- Repair structurally deficient bridges and tunnels
- Deliver full ADA-accessible improvements at more than 65 subway and railroad stations
- Make safety enhancements at stations and across infrastructure systems
- Install modern fare gates at more than 150 stations to prevent fare evasion
- Grow its zero-emissions bus fleet to stay on track for a fully electric fleet by 2040
- Increase resiliency against flooding and protect the Hudson Line against severe weather
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All of this will be achieved with a funding plan that also includes cuts to the regional Payroll Mobility Tax (PMT) for roughly 10,000 small businesses and an elimination of the PMT for self-employed individuals earning $150,000 or less. The plan will also fully eliminate the PMT for all local governments outside of New York City.
The Fiscal Year 2026 Budget also reallocates up to $1.2 billion from the Penn Station redevelopment project to be put toward priority capital projects such as the Interborough Express, safety initiatives, and efforts to reduce fare evasion. In addition, the MTA’s capital plan will spend $6 billion on the Metro-North Railroad (MNR) and another $6 billion on the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).
Finally, the MTA capital plan includes $800 million to advance regional investments that help create additional capacity, connect with underserved communities, and respond to changing populations and land-use patterns. The plan supports projects to reduce conflicts at the nation’s busiest railway junction, electrification and capacity initiatives on the LIRR and MNR, and the evaluation and development of improvement and expansion projects.
