<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fastflyer:
My gripe with Airtrain is the same as Analise: this thing does not go into Manhattan. It was well known by all involved that if a train is not a "one-seat" option, people choose other transportation methods. I have no idea why they even bothered with the Airtrain.
What should be done is an extension of the A train directly into the terminals. And like in the 1980s, a truly 'express'
A train that makes only a couple of stops between downtown Manhattan and JFK. I am certain this could have been accomplished for $2 billion, including express tubes around the current A local stops. Then the city could run that train every 5 minutes during the day: it would enhance service on the A line and would provide a 30-minute link for the entire island of Manhattan to JFK.
(It has taken me up to 1.5 hours on the A train from Midtown to terminal check-in with the old bus service from Howard Beach).</font>
A couple of years ago I attended a briefing by a Port Authority official on the planning for the Airtrain. He said the LIRR and subway could not be routed around the JFK terminals because of the steep grades needed to get over and under the various runways, roads, etc., and that tunneling around the airport would be inefficient and uneconomical because of the high water table. I thought this was all too self-serving, since the PA had already decided on the route (Van Wyck Blvd., rather than the disused LIRR Rockaways branch!!) and construction of the Airtrain. It was obvious that NIMBY's, restrictions on using airport taxes and somebody's idea of what a modern rail connection to the airport should look like (or corruption?) made any logical argument futile. I wonder what Pataki and Bloomberg were talking about when they recently, repeatedly mentioned a future one-seat rail connection from Manhattan to JFK. Have they discussed this with the PA? How would they feel about competition with their limited, clumsy Airtrain?
[This message has been edited by Track (edited Dec 22, 2003).]