Meant To Raise Money, Nostalgia Trains Cost Taxpayers
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is spending taxpayer dollars to fund the New York Transit Museum’s “Nostalgia Train Program,” according to an audit released yesterday by the state comptroller, Thomas Di-Napoli.
The vintage subway cars that the MTA rolls out on special occasions, such as the 75th anniversary of the A train last Monday, are intended to raise money for the New York Transit Museum through ticket sales.
But the program, which cost $20,576 in 2005, brought in $12,110 in ticket sales that year, according to the audit. A majority of the costs were incurred by New York City Transit, which runs the city’s subways and buses, and is responsible for restoring and maintaining the historic trains.
The Nostalgia Train, according to the audit, is being subsidized through fare revenues and public funding. The audit comes at a time when MTA is projecting major deficits and has announced plans to increase subway and bus fares as early as 2008. A spokesman from the MTA could not immediately be reached for comment.
