State lawmakers are grilling the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency that has come under withering criticism for its operation of the New York City's beleaguered transit system.

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota assured legislators Thursday that an $836 million plan launched last summer to fix the city's subway service "is starting to show better results."

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget plan includes $9.7 billion for the departments of transportation and Motor Vehicles, the Thruway Authority and the MTA.

Lhota testified that while the subways are showing signs of stabilization, he wasn't pleased with service problems on the Long Island Rail Road.

The hearing before Senate and Assembly lawmakers comes as Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat, continue to squabble over capital funding for the MTA.