Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on the MTA to hold...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on the MTA to hold an emergency public hearing on a new plan to avoid an L train service shutdown. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s sudden interest in avoiding a 15-month shutdown of New York City’s L subway shows what can happen when he takes charge of what he called a “highly impactful” issue.

Cuomo says all it took was a conversation with a Brooklyn resident about the L train during last year’s gubernatorial race. In December, he called experts and went on subway tunnel tours. Three weeks later, he upended repair plans three years in the making.

We hope his new plan works, but concerns remain. Still, Cuomo’s leadership and new thinking both outside and inside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are welcome and illustrate what’s possible for the region’s transit system, its problems and its projects.

Cuomo talked Friday of utilizing the thinking and technology of Elon Musk’s electric-car company, Tesla, to modernize subway signals and cars. That’s worth a look for the subways and the commuter rails, though it’s likely easier said than done. And there are other areas ripe for a larger imagination. For instance, are there outside-the-box ways to finish the mammoth East Side Access effort to connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal sooner and less expensively? Are there new ideas for tackling the leaf residue that affects LIRR tracks and trains each fall, or for electrifying the branches that run on diesel, or for bringing full-time service to Belmont Park?

Perhaps, but Cuomo should take a leadership role on big MTA efforts at the start, doing the hard work of collaborating with communities, experts and local officials, rather than swooping in at the end.

And in every case, think differently — but make sure it’s done right.

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