The Why Train: That Lucky Seven Keeps Rolling
AP
An unidentified student swipes her Metropolitan Transit Authority free student pass at the Chambers Street #1 line subway station in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. A doomsday budget plan offered by New York City's transit agency would leave pupils without free rides to public schools, ending a 60-year policy in the nation's largest school district.
You would think if kids are losing their metrocards, then big projects are really in trouble.
But when it comes to mass transit, be careful not to assume to much.
Take the 7 train for example, or rather, the 7 train extension. It's a multi-billion dollar project that's still on track despite gaping holes in the MTA budget.
Why? Because this project is already paid for: New York City financed the expansion of service to the far West Side of Manhattan by selling investment bonds.
And buyers get a piece of the action if developers are able to capitalize financially on the future speedy service from Times Square to the Javits Center. Opening day is still four years away, but that's practically next month compared to the Second Avenue Subway's development.
That massive project is also moving forward, thanks to federal funds. Opening Day for the new 7 Train: December 2013. Second Avenue: 2016. It'll be here before you know it.
