Port Washington AirTrain To LaGuardia Officially Scrapped: Report

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Long Islanders hoping to be able to travel to LaGuardia by rail are officially out of luck as plans for a new AirTrain that would have linked the airport to the LIRR’s Port Washington line have officially been scrapped, Newsday reported Monday.

At the recommendation of a panel of transportation experts, Governor Kathy Hochul canceled the $2 billion AirTrain plans in favor of "less-intrusive alternatives" like improved MTA Bus service to the airport and a new nonstop shuttle bus service to and from Astoria, the outlet reported.

Criticism of the AirTrain proposal included pushback from environmentalists concerned about the impacts of construction, as well as complaints about routes that would have required travelers to travel in a direction opposite to their destination before boarding a connection to take them back in the right direction.

“New Yorkers deserve world-class transportation to world-class airports,” Hochul said in a statement obtained by Newsday, adding that the alternatives provide “a clear, cost-effective path forward with an emissions-free transit solution for customers.”

Danny Pearlstein—of the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance—told Newsday it was refreshing "to see government leaders admit a mistake and change course before it's too late.”

“The backwards boondoggle AirTrain belongs just where it landed, on the scrap heap of history,” Pearlstein told the outlet. “Much better bus service is the right answer both for Queens riders and the travelers who pass through their neighborhoods on the way to the airport."

Read the full report at Newsday.