AirTrain in New York

The long-planned LaGuardia AirTrain is about to become a reality. On what this "air train" will be.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed its review and consultation on the project and said it could move forward.

For decades, proponents and opponents of the project have discussed various options for developing a convenient transportation link between New York City and LaGuardia Airport, ranging from lengthening the N train route to building separate bus lanes.

Now the airtrain is finally ready to be built. It will have interchanges on the tracks of the No. 7 train and the Long Island Railway at Willetts Point. Critics of the project said it was illogically designed, with passengers having to travel west to then travel east to Manhattan.

That said, the New York City Building Congress president Carlo Scissura said it was a win-win project that was likely to succeed.

He said: "Build, build, build. This is how we can get out of the pandemic crisis".

Building the track will require negotiating rights of way with property owners on the site where the track is to run.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been supporting AirTrain since it began redeveloping La Guardia Airport.

The original cost of the project was about $500 million, now it has grown to $2 billion. It includes compensation for homeowners affected by the construction, as well as reconstruction of Flushing Bay's waterfront, which is adjacent to the train route.

The project will be paid for mainly by revenue from tickets sold to train passengers as well as travellers from La Guardia Airport.

Construction is due to start in June 2021 and be completed by 2025.