4 ms·

> I do wish they could have just made the Air Tram part of the subway system cause taking a taxi during rush hour was certainly a mistake but Q ->... hmm I gues

> I do wish they could have just made the Air Tram part of the subway system cause taking a taxi during rush hour was certainly a mistake but Q ->... hmm I guess the A or J or whatever train would get me to the Air Tram -> Air Tram is a bit of a pain. Unfortunately, federal law essentially prohibits cities from having subways connect directly to airports, which is why nearly every city in the country has a separate train shuttle to the airport (assuming they have a subway system in the first place at all). For what it's worth, if you're taking the Q to the A, you're probably coming from a place where it's actually faster to take the LIRR (from Penn Station or Port Authority) to get to JFK.

cafard 4y ago
The Washington Metro has a stop at Reagan National (DCA), and BART goes to SFO. Baltimore light rail goes to BWI Marshall.
- chimeracoder 4y ago
  DCA is an exception (the law is a little more complicated; I was simplifying for the sake of the comment). The law applies to heavy rail, not light rail - the NYC subway system is entirely heavy rail.
  - ipython 4y ago
    The silver line extension (hopefully opening by thanksgiving) includes a stop at IAD (Dulles airport, the third airport in the DC area class B airspace) as well.
    - chimeracoder 4y ago
      Yes, that's because the relevant law was repealed last year. The Silver Line was actually the impetus to finally end the policy. However, transit infrastructure is locked in once, built, so almost every other transit system in the country has this issue, because it was built before 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3v5j3/us-airports-no-longer-have-to-build-their-own-crappy-trains https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3v5j3/us-airports-no-longer...
      - ipython 4y ago
        Fascinating, til. Thanks!
ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
>Unfortunately, federal law essentially prohibits cities from having subways connect directly to airports Could you kindly provide a citation for this claim?

cafard 4y ago

The Washington Metro has a stop at Reagan National (DCA), and BART goes to SFO. Baltimore light rail goes to BWI Marshall.

chimeracoder 4y ago
DCA is an exception (the law is a little more complicated; I was simplifying for the sake of the comment). The law applies to heavy rail, not light rail - the NYC subway system is entirely heavy rail.
- ipython 4y ago
  The silver line extension (hopefully opening by thanksgiving) includes a stop at IAD (Dulles airport, the third airport in the DC area class B airspace) as well.
  - chimeracoder 4y ago
    Yes, that's because the relevant law was repealed last year. The Silver Line was actually the impetus to finally end the policy. However, transit infrastructure is locked in once, built, so almost every other transit system in the country has this issue, because it was built before 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3v5j3/us-airports-no-longer-have-to-build-their-own-crappy-trains https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3v5j3/us-airports-no-longer...
    - ipython 4y ago
      Fascinating, til. Thanks!

ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago

>Unfortunately, federal law essentially prohibits cities from having subways connect directly to airports Could you kindly provide a citation for this claim?