New York 2nd Ave subway may open 1 year late

A woman talks on the phone as subway riders exit the transit system following the first snowfall of the year in New York December 2, 2007. New York's first new subway line in decades now might not open until June 2015, a year later than planned, as construction costs have soared and the agency building it has a $9 billion hole in its capital plan.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's first new subway line in decades now might not open until June 2015, a year later than planned, as construction costs have soared and the agency building it has a $9 billion hole in its capital plan.

The first phase of this subway, which was first proposed in the 1920s and canceled three times due to different cash crunches, is not the only project imperiled by the shortfall, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The East Side Access project, which will give Long Island rail commuters a new Midtown alternative -- Grand Central Terminal -- in addition to Pennsylvania Station, also could be delayed six months to February 2015, the agency's chief executive officer, Elliot Sander, told the board.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the biggest U.S. mass transit agency with around 8 million commuters, wants to increase its capital plan for 2008 to 2010 to $29.554 billion.

Its current plan totals $21.3 billion and runs from 2005 to 2010, but the agency crafted a new plan that takes into account $4.5 billion of bonds from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's so-called congestion pricing plan, explained MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.

The state legislature now is considering the mayor's gridlock-fighting plan, which already has been modified but which could include charging motorists $8 fees for driving into Manhattan south of 60th Street on weekdays during rush hour.

One of the most important subway improvements that the authority had hoped to create out of the destruction of the World Trade Center -- the Fulton Street Transit Center -- now has no completion date.

The new station was supposed to open in June 2009, but like many Ground Zero projects, has stalled because construction costs have escalated. The authority might not be able to build the so-called occulus -- a glass rotunda -- that would have given some much-needed grandeur to a station that now is just a twisted series of walkways that connect the different lines.

The authority asked its top engineer, Mysore Nagaraja, to delay his retirement by 30 days to help it determine which projects it can now afford, and the new capital plan includes the changes in budgets and schedules that resulted.

The cost of just one material -- steel -- has shot up 91 percent, with overall costs up 12.8 percent, since some of the initial planning, the authority noted in a statement.

The tri-state region -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- cannot keep growing unless it greatly improves mass transit, urban planners say. The agency's chief noted New York also must keep up with fast-growing cities around the world.

"A fully funded Program is critical to encourage transit use, to improve our customers' experience and to keep pace with global competitors like London and Shanghai, where billions are being invested in transit each year."

The Second Avenue subway's first phase will give Manhattan's East Side commuters a new ride from 92nd Street and 63rd Street, a transfer point to another line.

Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who last January attended the fourth groundbreaking ceremony for the Second Avenue subway, told reporters: "I'm not so sure I see it as delay. We're fully committed to funding the capital projects and we're going to be building them on schedule.

Transit advocate Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign praised many aspects of the new plan, noting it is focused in the four boroughs outside Manhattan. He was not concerned about the delay. "Do you think it will come as a shock to New Yorkers that a segment of the Second Avenue will be moved back a year?" he asked rhetorically.

By 2018, the new subway is supposed to link with the Metro North rail road at 125th St to serve commuters who live in the outlying New York and Connecticut suburbs.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it is starting to plan for the demand it expects in 2030 with a $1.4 billion "communications-based" system to control trains on the Flushing and Queens Boulevard lines.

Other big purchases needed to keep the authority's sprawling system in good repair include 8,453 rail cars, 4,930 buses, 3,259 switches 1,931 miles of track, 733 stations, 524 power substations, 301 pump rooms, 197 ventilation plants, 197 toll lanes and 10 toll plazas.

Another 590 subway cars would be added, along with 2,976 buses and 440 rail cars, while 44 subway stations would be modernized. Some $590 million would be spent on improving security and consolidating back office functions.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Andrea Ricci)