With the recent release of a feasibility study by the MTA on the “Interborough Express,” a little-known stretch of train tracks is suddenly in the news. The Bay Ridge Branch is a critical link in the freight rail network of New York Harbor and Long Island, carrying goods like construction materials, chemicals, and beer, and connecting with the Hell Gate Bridge and the city’s last cross-harbor rail barge terminal. This proposal would utilize the branch for both freight and commuter rail service, linking with the NYC subway and providing a direct route through southern and eastern Brooklyn and Queens without the need to travel through Manhattan. In this virtual program, we will look at the history of the Bay Ridge Branch, its current use and future potential, and its connection to the long-planned Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel.
- Regional Plan Association: The Triboro
- New York & Atlantic Railway
- “The Pizza and Beer Train: New York City’s Hidden Railroad” (New York Times)
- New York New Jersey Rail
- “New York’s Last Cross-Harbor Railway Chugs On” (Wall Street Journal)
- PANYNJ: Cross Harbor Freight Program
- New York Cross Harbor Railroad (Trainweb)
- NYC Planning: Bronx MetroNorth Station Area Study
- The Port of New York Authority Annual Reports
