The MTA outlines its Five-Year Capital Plan

The MTA board approved its $68.4 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan on Sept. 25, which will provide the LIRR around $6 billion to purchase new trains, upgrade stations, and replace tracks, but the five-year report gives few details about improvements for Montauk Branch service.

While the MTA plans to purchase new rolling stock to replace an increasingly dilapidating fleet, and repair other infrastructure including track, signal, and power station replacement, there are questions regarding the extent of upgrades for South Shore residents, and where funding will come from.

While the capital plan would replace 17 miles of signals along the Montauk Branch, and includes funding for studying electrified train service to Yaphank, no mention of expanding electrified service east of Babylon was mentioned.

“The LIRR 1960’s motto, ‘Line of the Dashing Dan,’ should be changed to ‘Line of the Slow-Moving Sloth’ when it comes to completing LIRR Speonk branch electrification,” said transportation advocate Larry Penner.

According to Penner’s estimates, any funding into electrified service along the Montauk Branch would come through future capital plans, delaying the potential for electric trains towards Speonk until at least 2050.

The timeline for South Shore electrified train service also depends on whether the MTA electrifies east of Ronkonkoma or along the Port Jefferson Branch first, with only Ronkonkoma Branch improvements directly mentioned in the capital plan.

“There’s no decision to favor one [branch] over the other,” said MTA CEO Janno Lieber at a press conference. “There are multiple proposals for electrifying or improving or expanding the branch lines at the East End… and there’s significant funding once that evaluation process is able to take place.”

But with Gov. Hochul pausing the MTA’s congestion pricing plan earlier this year, the transit agency is left with a $15 billion funding gap, and with federal funds and bonds covering around $30 billion of the five-year-plan’s cost, the state legislature still needs to approve around $33 billion of the remaining budget.

“I will continue to work in partnership with the state legislature to implement comprehensive solutions and ensure appropriate funding sources in next year’s budget,” Gov. Hochul said following her congestion pricing pause.

Besides debates over funding and electrification expansion, riders can also expect to see new train cars and improved signals under the capital plan.

The MTA plans to retire the nearly 39-year-old M3 cars that are known for their red and blue leather seats and proclivity to break down and will replace other third-rail and bi-level coach cars that are nearing the end of their service lifespan.

The transit authority is focusing their budget on rebuilding train infrastructure across the metropolitan area, but to advocates like Penner, little may change for South Shore commuters.

“Based upon my past experiences on other Federal Transit Administration LIRR projects, even if all goes well as I’ve outlined, Speonk Branch electrification may not be completed until 2050,” Penner said. “With inflation over time, the final project cost could easily grow by several hundred million dollars.”