Rail jam ahead

MTA’s $836M fix may not leave station: Lhota

THE BIG SUBWAY fix may be in a bit of a fix.

An ambitious MTA plan to rescue the subway from collapse may get scaled back for lack of funding, the head of the MTA said Wednesday.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota said he’ll tell transit agency board members next month how he plans to pay for his $836 million subway action plan, which includes hiring 2,700 workers.

Lhota, who unveiled his plan two months ago, said he’ll also show what work will get top priority if he can’t get any assurances that the cash he needs will be there.

“We’ll be able to see what can be done, what can’t be done, if we’re unsuccessful in getting the full amount of money,” Lhota told the MTA board Wednesday.

He vowed not to “spend one penny more” than what’s in this year’s budget.

Lhota (photo) refused to say what work could be derailed.

“We’ll put out the prioritization of which things we expect can get done,” Lhota told reporters after the meeting. “I am not going to lead with my chin and say, we’ll get this done or this doesn’t get done, based on who gives what.”

Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio, said Lhota should not expect a check from the city, citing the money that the state swept from the MTA.

“Try as they might, city riders won’t allow the state and the MTA to pull the wool over their eyes,” Finan said. “Implementing half the plan isn’t an option.” The plan aims to tackle the sources of the most disruptive problems in the subway, like its aging signal system and track issues. So far, the MTA has hired 300 workers for its plan. Chief Financial Officer Bob Foran said new revenue is needed so that the agency can sustain hiring in the long run. In the short term, Foran said the MTA can rely on overtime, contract work and drawing money from reserves. But without the long-term funding, “We’ll reduce what we can spend to stay within a financial plan,” he said. Board members pressured the MTA brass to think more creatively about funding the subway rescue plan. “Are there ways we can do things more affordably, efficiencies to be gained? Are there other priorities the agency can reshuffle?” asked Polly Trottenberg, the city’s transportation commissioner and de Blasio’s rep on the MTA board. “I would like as a board member to be given more options than just the binary — the city pays half or we don’t do any of it.”

MTA board member Andrew Saul asked for a historical head count of the agency’s workforce.

“The answer may not be just throwing more people at these things,” said Saul, of Westchester County.

Still, allies of Gov. Cuomo, who effectively controls the MTA, held out hope de Blasio will come through with the money.

“I hope the mayor will come up with the money to work in partnership with the governor, because it’s a city-state issue,” said Larry Schwartz, a former Cuomo aide and MTA board member.