The Second Avenue subway, still riderless until at least 2016, may not be pressing north anytime soon. But the shovels will be summoned in due time, transportation officials said on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it planned to proceed with Phase Two of the project — an extension to 125th Street — as part of its proposed five-year capital plan to be presented to its board next month.

The first phase, which will provide service from 63rd to 96th Streets, is expected to be completed in a little over two years. Thomas F. Prendergast, the authority’s chairman, told reporters on Thursday that construction on Phase Two would not begin for several years.

“Maybe a shovel in the ground at the back end of the program,” he said, referring to the 2015-19 capital plan. Design and environmental work will proceed in the interim, he added.