Amtrak has proposed spending USD 50M to begin preliminary engineering and design on two new trans-Hudson rail tunnels from New Jersey to New York City.
Amtrak said it expedited its plans to build new rail tunnels following cancellation of the ARC tunnel by New Jersey governor Chris Christie in 2010. Its CEO, Joseph Boardman, and board member Tony Coscia, with New Jersey senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (both democrats), announced the Gateway Project at Penn Station in Newark, New Jersey, on 7 February.
?“Intercity and commuter rail passengers in New York and New Jersey are in need of increased rail capacity,” Coscia said.? ?“The two new trans-Hudson tunnels envisioned under this plan will provide long-sought peak-period operational capacity and is an investment that will improve transportation flexibility and reliability for decades to come.”
?Tunnels for the Gateway Project would connect New Jersey from Penn Station in Newark to an expansion of existing Penn Station in Manhattan.
?There would also be significant infrastructure improvements in New Jersey including increasing track capacity from two to four, and replacing the 100-year-old Portal Bridge across the Hackensack River.
According to projections by Amtrak, the entire Gateway Project could be completed in 2020 at an estimated cost of USD 13.5bn.
Amtrak said it will take the lead in finding ways to pay for the new tunnels, including seeking potential contributions from local, regional and state governments including New Jersey, New York State, New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), as well as private investors.
