Gov. Cuomo announces AirTrain linking 7 train to LaGuardia

Yesterday, Governor Cuomo announced a proposal that would connect the always-difficult-to-get-to LaGuardia airport with the 7 line and the Long Island Rail Road via an AirTrain that would curve along the Grand Central Parkway and connect to an expanded terminal alongside Citi Field and the National Tennis Center.

For anyone who has gone through the stressful and exhausting process of either taking a cab through endless traffic or trying to pull multiple bags of luggage onto a bus, the news of the AirTran is reason for celebration.

Cuomo’s office said that the train would cost about $450 million to build, though they don’t have a timeline for the train’s construction.

“I would not venture a guess to the timing,” the Governor said.

A spokesperson did say, however, that once construction began the project should take about five years to finish.

Who will pay for the train is a little bit vague, but Cuomo seemed to indicate that the cost would be covered from the budgets of the MTA and the Port Authority, with some help from the state and the money it is expecting to receive from settlements with Wall Street banks.

Astoria residents will be especially happy to note the plan, since it was proposed earlier by Rudy Giuliani to extend the N line from Astoria to the airport. Many opposed the idea because of the effect it would have on local neighborhoods, and the idea was eventually dropped.

Now it will just be a waiting game for LGA to become as convenient and accessible as JFK, and in the meantime, you’ll just have to crawl through traffic to get to the airport with the best of ’em.