Pataki Says Airport Rail Plan Should Be Improved

NY Governor-elect George Pataki proposed extending the Port Authority's planned NYC airport rail access project to Grand Central Terminal and opening the system to a general ridership. The Port Authority plan presently would link JFK and LaGuardia airports with several stops

in Queens and a Manhattan terminal at 59th Street and Lexington Ave. The Port Authority also maintains that the Federal Aviation Administration-approved funding source for the project requires that it be designed to serve airport-destined riders only. Port Authority airport access program director

Edward O'Sullivan said the Port Authority budget could not sustain the Grand Central extension, which would add $600 million to the $2.6 billion project. O'Sullivan also said he feared revisiting the federal legislation that permits project funding because airlines have lobbied consistently to have

such funding devoted solely to airport improvements.VY Newsday