The head of the MTA said today he would like to see the 7 train extend further south into Chelsea and over to the West Side Highway.

Joseph Lhota said he supports the 7 south-western expansion because that area of the city could use more subways.

“I’d like to see the 7 train in other parts of New York City,” he said at the Regional Plan Association’s annual transportation conference.

He said he’d like the 7 – currently being extended to 34 and 11th Avenue – to someday snake down to 23rd Street and the West Side Highway.

Lhota recently said it was unlikely that Mayor Bloomberg’s dream of a cross-Hudson River 7 train connection would ever happen.

He does support the Amtrak Gateway project, which would add tunnels to bring trains from New Jersey into Manhattan.