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New Jersey; Amtrak announce plans for "Gateway Project" to replace failed Hudson River commuter tunnel
New Jersey's two senators and Amtrak executives announced plans yesterday for the "Gateway Project," an alternative to the Hudson River commuter-train tunnel scrapped by Gov. Chris Christie last October.Largely following the same footprint as the previously-proposed tunnel, the plan includes an expanded Penn Station and an additional 11 NJ Transit trains per hour - from 22 to 33 - as well as eight more Amtrak trains. The hope is to have the tunnel built within a decade.
The Wall Street Journal states that Gateway would be less beneficial to commuters than the canceled Access to the Region's Core, or ARC, project, because its primary goal is to speed long-distance trains between New York and destinations like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
[Flickr via Nesster]
The cost could be upwards of $13.5 billion, but Amtrak officials say they believe the tunnel fits in well with President Obama's vision for infrastructure improvements in America and high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.
Amtrak plans to ask the government to fund a $50 million study on the plan this week. Funding for the remainder of the project has yet to be determined, but it is predicted that Amtrak will fund at least part of it.
Amtrak had intended to build another tunnel to improve capacity in the nation's most congested rail corridor, but not until 2040. In a best case scenario, this project could be completed by around 2020.
Along with the Gateway project would be a plan to raise and replace the century-old train Portal Bridge between Kearny and Secaucus over the Hackensack River.
Amtrak plans to ask the government to fund a $50 million study on the plan this week. Funding for the remainder of the project has yet to be determined, but it is predicted that Amtrak will fund at least part of it.
Amtrak had intended to build another tunnel to improve capacity in the nation's most congested rail corridor, but not until 2040. In a best case scenario, this project could be completed by around 2020.
Along with the Gateway project would be a plan to raise and replace the century-old train Portal Bridge between Kearny and Secaucus over the Hackensack River.
Filed under: Business, North America
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave Kearns Feb 8th 2011 1:59PM
You wanta run that math past us again? Increasing from 22 to 33 trains per hour is a gain of...how many?
McLean Feb 8th 2011 2:02PM
You are so right - it was a typo and has been corrected.
Jacob Feb 8th 2011 6:43PM
Did you mean "raze and replace"?
McLean Feb 8th 2011 3:11PM
Jacob,
My understanding is that it would be a literal RAISING - the bridge is too low right now.
Richard Feb 8th 2011 3:01PM
"Funding for the remainder of the project has yet to be determined, but it is predicted that Amtrak will fund at least part of it."
Hmmm. How much does the federal government subsidize Amtrak now? Sounds like the funding will come from different pockets of the same pair of pants.