Proposal for Hudson Rail Tunnel

[Kris]

June 21, 2003

New Jersey to Study Proposal for Rail Tunnel

By RONALD SMOTHERS

NEWARK, June 20 — New Jersey Transit today chose two engineering firms to begin environmental impact studies of a proposed new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The move helped inch forward a nearly decade-old idea that still is not likely to be a reality for at least another decade.

The commuter transit agency chose a joint venture of the engineering firms of Manhattan-based Parsons Brinckerhoff and Bloomfield, N.J.-based Systra Consulting to do the $4.9 million preliminary study of the proposal. The eventual cost of the tunnel, which would be built south of the existing 93-year-old rail tunnel, has been estimated at $5 billion.

In a meeting of the agency's board in the vaulted waiting room of Newark Penn Station and at a press conference afterward, Gov. James E. McGreevey was joined by both of the state's U.S. senators and U.S. Representative William Pascrell, all of whom would be called on to secure federal funds for any tunnel project, and officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Noting that between 2010 and 2020 the existing tunnels will reach capacity, the governor said trans-Hudson travel was too important to the region to delay any longer.

"It will be the largest and most important project of our generation, and too often our generation avoids focusing on difficult projects," said Mr. McGreevey. "But we must look beyond the immediate horizon and put the groundwork in place for the next generation."

Today's action by New Jersey incrementally advances an idea that has been the object of some tension between New Jersey and New York. Since a 1995 study proposed several new trans-Hudson tunnel options, the two states have at times differed on which option best served each of their interests. At one time New York feared that the cost of the trans-Hudson tunnel would crowd out other projects.

Mr. McGreevey was careful to say today that the draft study he was authorizing with federal funds obtained by New Jersey would help put the tunnel "in the context of an overall plan for the region" so that New York's Gov. George E. Pataki could see its benefits.

More important, said one state transportation official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, New Jersey had dropped proposals by previous state administrations that would have the tunnel run to Grand Central Terminal rather than to Penn Station, where commuter trains originating in New Jersey now stop. That option was seen by some in New York as encroaching on the east side terminal and interfering with the city's goal of bringing Long Island Rail Road trains into the terminal.

Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

[RonaldD]

These passenger tunnels are vital. The proposed freight tunnel from NJ to Brooklyn is not.

[STT757]

This project will nearly double the amount of NJ Transit trains into Manhattan, this is good for NJ and NY.

It benefits NJ residents and brings more workers into the City, making staying in or re-locating to the City an easier decision for employers.

The new Hudson rail tunnel for NJ Transit, East Side Access for LIRR, LIRR connection to Lower Manhattan via a new East river tunnel, the new Lower Manhattan transit "hubs", PATH extension to EWR, a direct connection of the JFK Airtrain to Penn Station and Lower Manhattan.

These are all terrific projects which is going to NYC much more accessible to visitors, commuters and business travelers.

The economic benefits from these transit projects being developed will extend 100 years.

[dbhstockton]

It will also make NJ more accessible to New Yorkers. *I dream of the day when NJ Transit trains will run like the subway.

[NYguy]

They won't run as frequently as the subway, but service has improved a lot. *I'm still waiting to see how the new Secaucus transfer station (which looks great) will affect things.

[STT757]

Secaucus transfer is going to make trains more crowded, that's for sure.

They are also working on the Meadowlands spur as part of that Xanadu project, so hopefully folks from NY will be able to take NJ Transit to a Giants game (via Secaucus transfer).

http://www.accesstotheregionscore.com

[STT757]

"PRESS RELEASE:
McGreevey Announces Major Progress for “ARC” Project
Governor, supporters announce awarding of DEIS for Access to the Region’s Core Project
Expanded passenger facilities, track and tunnel planning launched


(NEWARK) – As part of an ongoing effort to increase rail capacity between New Jersey and New York, Governor James E. McGreevey was joined at Newark Penn Station today by federal, state and local lawmakers and advocacy groups to announce a major step forward in the Access to the Region’s Core project.


During a special meeting, NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors awarded a $4.9 million contract to Transit Link, a joint venture of Parsons Brinkerhoff and Systra Engineering, to produce a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project.


“New Jersey’s transportation network is an integral part of our attraction as a business location, an engine of economic growth, and new job creation,” said McGreevey. “We must keep New Jersey’s commuters moving to keep our economy growing and jobs coming. Between 2010 and 2020, our rail tunnels will reach maximum capacity. We can add all the bi-level cars and additional train stations physically possible, but at some point, we must make sure that the infrastructure is in place to support increased ridership.”


The ARC study could become one of the region’s largest ever public works projects – and lead to the creation of thousands of jobs – by constructing expanded passenger facilities in close proximity to Penn Station New York, trackwork and a two-track rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. The trans-Hudson corridor development project will benefit both New Jersey and New York by improving mobility, serving as a catalyst for economic development and creating safety- and security-critical redundancy.


United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, who secured the dollars being announced today in 2000, stated, “I was proud to get this money and I will work hard to see we get the full amount necessary to get this tunnel built. A new tunnel will create jobs, reduce congestion and help the environment. It’s a win-win for everyone."


United States Senator Jon S. Corzine announced that he is seeking $16 million in federal dollars to fund the next level of planning efforts needed to advance the project. Corzine stated, “A second Hudson River commuter rail tunnel is essential for continued economic growth in our region. The ability of NJ Transit to improve and expand rail service - and connect a variety of rail routes in northern and central New Jersey - depends on the construction of this new tunnel. More people riding NJ Transit trains will mean fewer cars on the road during rush hours and fewer traffic jams. And that not only means greater economic productivity, it means cleaner air.”


U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure stated, "Unless we want to start paving over our backyards, we must continue to increase opportunity for New Jerseyans to get out of their cars and into the mass transit system. Access to Manhattan is critical to the economic growth of our state and another passenger car tunnel is not an option. For every billion dollars spent on transportation projects, 42,000 jobs are created. This project will not only provide cleaner air, more efficient travel, and increase quality of New Jersey life, but it will create jobs as well. I am proud to take the lead on House Transportation Committee to seek federal funding for the project through the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization."


In partnership with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), the DEIS will refine and analyze plans for expanded passenger facilities in midtown Manhattan, new track, bridge work and the construction of a new trans-Hudson tunnel, providing significant capacity relief by effectively doubling the number of trains operating to and from midtown Manhattan. The project would ease rail traffic congestion in the heart of the region.


Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia joined the Governor at the announcement and said, "For more than 80 years, the Port Authority has worked to create a world-class transportation network that would support jobs and economic growth throughout the region. This bold, aggressive rail plan will ease traffic delays at the Hudson River crossings, provide more capacity to transport people to and from Manhattan by rail, and ultimately help support economic growth in New York and New Jersey."


Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, "This study will help us determine the feasibility of a Hudson River Tunnel and determine the best way to move forward with this project. The Port Authority and NJ Transit will continue to work together to assess the impacts and benefits of the proposed project."


Joseph J. Seymore, Port Authority Executive Director stated, “This regional partnership will help ensure that New York Penn Station has the capability to handle expanded commuter, intercity, and airport-access services well into the next century."


Officials said today the project would provide multiple regional benefits. It is expected to create several thousand construction jobs, and ultimately will provide commuter access to more than one million jobs in midtown Manhattan. Importantly, additional rail capacity will contribute to recreational and commercial development opportunities on the west side of midtown Manhattan and along the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey. In addition to the expanded capacity, the project provides safety- and security-critical redundancies in a post-9/11 environment, and protects the reliability of the region’s transportation network.


New Jersey Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Jack Lettiere said,

“A century ago, visionaries changed our economic future by creating the region’s first trans-Hudson passenger rail initiative, including construction of a critical tunnel between New Jersey and New York. Governor McGreevey is likewise securing the next generation’s economic future by making expanded passenger rail access a transportation priority.”


Specifically, the DEIS will:

· Identify connecting opportunities between NJ TRANSIT and other regional transit

providers including New York City subways, Amtrak and PATH.

· Pursue more detailed analysis and conceptual engineering of all project components.

· Establish a phased implementation plan to provide near-term capacity relief and long-term capacity expansion.

· Conduct environmental analysis and public outreach in conformance with FTA requirements.


The DEIS – scheduled for completion in 2005 – is the next step of work required to allow the New Jersey, midtown Manhattan trans-Hudson corridor development project to continue qualifying for federal funding. The next steps are:

· 2005 to 2007 – Preliminary engineering and final design work.

· 2008 – Groundbreaking for near term capacity improvements (including new double-track railroad between Secaucus and Hudson River and a new storage yard west of existing Penn Station New York).

· 2010 – Begin construction of tunnel and expanded station area in New York.

· 2015 – Estimated completion of construction.


Work on the ARC project began in 1994 when NJ TRANSIT, the PANYNJ and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority began assessing the need to better integrate the regional transportation network. Since that time, ridership to Penn Station New York has grown substantially on all three rail lines serving Penn Station New York – the Northeast Corridor, the North Jersey Coast Line and MidTOWN DIRECT rail service.


Capacity on the system was further constrained by the September 11, 2001 closure of the PATH World Trade Center station. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will begin opening the Secaucus Transfer Station on weekends in fall 2003, with plans to offer weekday service following the opening of a new PATH lower Manhattan station in November 2003, requiring more capacity needs.


In addition to pursuing the trans-Hudson corridor development, NJ TRANSIT – under the leadership of the Board of Directors and Governor McGreevey – has been implementing a “Back to Basics” program that includes increasing available seats on trains and buses, expanding parking opportunities at passenger facilities, improving customer service and making investments in critical equipment and infrastructure to improve the reliability of service. "

[ablarc]

Is it time to start thinking about a totally integrated regional rail system with free transfers? Maybe a zone system such as exists in the Washington area. Do-able now that electronic tickets have arrived.

[TLOZ Link5]

Editorial from today's Daily News:

A Port Authority custom

Manhattan: Your June 23 editorial "A tale of two tunnels," about the rail freight tunnel from Brooklyn to New Jersey, is proof again that the Port Authority helps Jersey at the expense of New York. If the PA had any interest in rebuilding the Brooklyn waterfront, this tunnel would have been dug years ago.

Similarly, if the PA wanted the Custom House back in lower Manhattan, and was actively promoting it, Customs would have returned. Nobody seems to remember why the World Trade Center was built — and what it stood for. The idea of having all the trade community in one location was never really pursued. The brokers, forwarders and steamship lines that moved into the Trade Center were treated miserably. As a result, most did not renew their leases at the new, exorbitant rents.

The twin towers were designed by the PA to make it feel great about having the tallest buildings in the world. By 9/11, I don’t think there were any tenants involved in world trade. No wonder the paperwork handled by the Custom House had diminished.

Marilyn Cohen

[Kris]

Governor presses for a third N.Y. rail tunnel
McGreevey: Project vital to N.J. economy

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

BY RON MARSICO
Star-Ledger Staff

Gov. James E. McGreevey has started a major new push for a proposed third rail tunnel linking New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan, a $5 billion, 10-year mega-project that has been bogged down in bureaucracy for more than a decade.

The full-court press stems from two big concerns: NJ Transit ridership will double to nearly 100,000 rush-hour passengers by 2015, and with numerous other massive transportation projects planned in New York City, the competition for funding from the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is likely to become fierce.

"This is also critically tied to our economic expansion," said McGreevey, flanked by his administration's key transportation officials last week during a Statehouse interview. "This represents our lifeblood."

Officials want construction on the project, known officially as Access to the Region's Core, to begin on a tunnel with two tubes in 2007, with completion in 2014. One tube could be completed as early as 2011, providing extra capacity if the city lands the 2012 Olympics, they said.

Currently, NJ Transit uses two century-old tunnels with one track each near the Lincoln Tunnel to carry some 43,000 passengers into Midtown at peak hours and a total of 118,000 per day. Both figures are expected to double by 2015. Those tunnels are owned by Amtrak, which has priority use.

The idea for a new tunnel -- which also would be near the Lincoln Tunnel -- was first broached in the 1920s and was considered urgently needed by the early 1990s, but it has stalled amid tepid interest at times and financial constraints.

"But Gov. McGreevey has indicated from the beginning that he thought this was a high-priority project," said Martin Robins, ARC's first director and a transportation expert at Rutgers University.

Robins said he believes McGreevey can be successful, in large part because of support from Anthony Coscia, the Port Authority chairman.

New Jersey officials now say it is a virtual necessity to increase rail capacity.

"We've underinvested in infrastructure for a long time," Coscia said.

Also driving New Jersey's interest is New York's aggressive pursuit of more than half a dozen big projects in Manhattan.

New York Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials have made commitments to various projects in Manhattan and the outlying city boroughs. They include a Second Avenue Subway, a Long Island Rail Road link to Grand Central Terminal and the No.7 Subway extension to Manhattan's West Side.

"I've had ongoing discussions with Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg regarding the importance (of the third tunnel) for New Jersey and New York," said McGreevey. "Our argument is that ARC is critical for both states."

So far, city officials have given only "support in principle" for the project, subject to various conditions.

Just last week, Pataki trumpeted one of his most ambitious goals: a $6 billion rail spur from Lower Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens that would include a new three-mile tunnel. Pakati is seeking some $560 million from the Port Authority for the new link, even though critics question whether there will be enough riders to justify the costs.

The ARC project seeks $2 billion from the federal government. Officials with the Port Authority have talked about a $1 billion commitment, but Coscia says he would like to see that amount increased to perhaps as much as $2 billion. The remainder likely would be sought from state sources.

Jack Lettiere, the state Department of Transportation commissioner, said what "moves this in Washington is if there's a strong commitment by the Port Authority."

Thus far, only $5 million has been appropriated for an environmental impact study that is scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2005.

NJ Transit officials say the study will help determine whether a new six-track station to accommodate the third tunnel is built beneath 34th Street or 31st Street. Both would parallel the existing Penn Station platforms, but state officials prefer 34th Street because it is a wider thoroughfare and offers more room below ground.

Administration officials also want interim improvements begun as early as 2006 to add capacity as the major construction begins. They said more than $300 million will be sought over the next two fiscal years to help begin funding extension of existing Penn Station platforms east to accommodate longer trains, lengthening concourses and expanding a nearby train yard.

"This is now real," said George Warrington, NJ Transit's executive director. "What we've done here is a very precise scheduling of action."

The Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit planning organization that has long promoted the project, cheered the initiative.

"The growth in commuting into New York City is coming from west of the Hudson," said Jeremy Soffin, an RPA spokesman. "New York needs to plan to get these people to the jobs in New York, otherwise the jobs won't be there."

Ron Marsico covers transportation issues. He can be reached at rmarsico@starledger.com or (973) 392-7860).

Copyright 2004 The Star-Ledger.

[dbhstockton]

Damnit this stuff takes for ever. I'm going to be old and grey by the time this gets built. Somebody needs to start cracking the whip on projects like this. If only we had a Robert Moses of Mass Transit...

[Ninjahedge]

Side question.

If they were to build a new tunnel from NJ to NY/Outer Boroughs, would you favor any access to Manhattan from it or vice versa?

My own opinion is to have a roadway that cuts across Manhattan and maybe has, AT MOST, a single lane entrance/exit ramp with a long que (sp) line.

There needs to be something to allow transit to get from one side of Manhattan to another without having to DEAL with Manhattan......

[STT757]

They are in the planning stages for replacing the Goethals bridge with a much larger bridge, the only realistic way to get traffic to Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island from NJ is via Staten Island.

The Staten Island Expressway has to be the most congested in the Tri-State, it's really bad.

They need to build more lanes from the "new" Geothals bridge to the Varranzano.

The only other solution is to build a combined bridge/tunnel from Monmouth County NJ to Brooklyn, similar to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Perhaps a spur off the Parkway in the vincinity of Middletown North.

[Ninjahedge]

That would work well for central jersey and Princeton, but it still stinks for most of the people coming from the northern suburbs (Hudson, Essex, Bergen, Passaic counties...).

I guess what I am asking is that is there any way to get people from where they are coming to where they are going without too much in between. If a lot of the through traffic had some other way to go that was not out of the way (I can drive up to the TZB on off-rush times and fly across, but that is a LONG ride from Hoboken), would that help with city traffic problems?

It seems like the most conjested areas of the city are, invariably, the crossings......

[krulltime]

LIGHT DIMS FOR NJ TRANSIT TUNNEL


August 3, 2004

Proponents of a third cross-Hudson rail tunnel lost a bit of hoped-for leverage recently when they learned that New York City's Olympics bid will rely on buses, not the trains that run under the river, to transport athletes to basketball and soccer games at the Meadowlands. Insiders say that the $5 billion to $7 billion New Jersey Transit project has Gov. James McGreevey's support, but needs an extra boost to push it to the top of the list for federal funding.

Backers of the tunnel are now soliciting the support of the New York City Central Labor Council. The tunnel project would create some 6,000 construction jobs.


Copyright 2004, Crain Communications, Inc

[Ninjahedge]

What about making the train more liuke what was mentioned earlier? More of a path train than a mass transit train.

Link NYC to NJ a bit more than through Hoboken and JC. be able to get on a car at 33rd street and take it across to the javitz, then across to Weehawken and from Weehawken down to Hoboken.

Everybody keeps talking about the "light rail" but I don't see much coming from that besides the moving of JC residents to the mall. :P

[Kris]

January 13, 2005

New in the Cellar at Macy's: A Tunnel to New Jersey?

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/01/12/opinion/20050113_tunnel.gif

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/01/13/nyregion/tunnel.583.jpg
Pedestrians crossed yesterday at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, where a rail tunnel to Midtown from New Jersey is proposed by transportation agencies.

An influential group of New York business leaders has thrown its weight behind a plan to build a $5 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River that would bring commuters to a new train station at the foot of Macy's flagship store on 34th Street.

The directors of the Partnership for New York City, concerned about relying on century-old infrastructure for getting their employees to work, decided late last year that the proposed tunnel should be a priority for government financing, said Kathryn S. Wylde, president and chief executive of the partnership.

Before that, Ms. Wylde said, the city's business leaders were not convinced that New York needed another hole in the ground.

But after hearing from officials of New Jersey Transit as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the partnership changed its list of priorities for 2005, saying that building the tunnel is as critical to the economy of New York as a new transit hub downtown and an extension of the No. 7 subway to the Far West Side, she said.

"The commuter tunnels under the Hudson are a lifeline for hundreds of Manhattan businesses, both in terms of bringing employees in from New Jersey and in terms of their work forces moving back and forth between locations," Ms. Wylde said. She added that the group decided that "a commuter rail tunnel into 34th Street would be a significant benefit to the New York economy and would provide an important service to maximize the value of the commercial development sites on the Far West Side."

Swaying the group, whose board includes the chairmen of American Express, J. P. Morgan Chase and Federated Department Stores, could give the tunnel plan a fighting chance in competing against a growing list of transportation projects. Drawing boards around the region are filled with multibillion-dollar ideas, including a rail tunnel from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn and a freight-train tunnel under New York Harbor.

"We can't build them all at once," said Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority.

Mr. Coscia said that the Hudson tunnel plan, also known as Access to the Region's Core, or ARC, "should be the region's priority," and he pledged to advocate "a significant contribution" from his agency. Much of the money should come from the federal government, Mr. Coscia said, but local sources would have to provide at least $2 billion and the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should be among them.

Mr. Coscia and George D. Warrington, the executive director of New Jersey Transit, have rounded up support from politicians west of the Hudson, including New Jersey's acting governor, Richard J. Codey, and its two United States senators, Frank R. Lautenberg and Jon S. Corzine. Mr. Warrington has also been calling on business and community leaders in New York to pitch the unusual notion of letting an out-of-state agency like New Jersey Transit dig into Manhattan and build a train station under 34th Street, between Avenue of the Americas and Eighth Avenue.

"You can't play in their sandbox without a lot of consultation," Mr. Warrington said, sitting at the head of a conference table in the New Jersey Transit headquarters in downtown Newark.

New Jersey Transit operates trains that carry more than 40,000 commuters under the Hudson and into Pennsylvania Station each weekday morning. Three of every four new jobs in Manhattan are being filled by people who live across the river, Mr. Warrington said, but the commuter train system is almost at full capacity. In the decade it would take to build the tunnel, New Jersey Transit could run out of space on its trains and its platforms at Penn Station, he said.

"There really isn't an appreciation out there for how tenuous, how fragile, the entire system is," Mr. Warrington said.

But he is working on that. With a PowerPoint presentation about the commuter crunch, he has ventured off his home turf to reach out to every organization that might help or hurt his cause. His tour made one of its first stops in a Macy's conference room in late September. There, Mr. Warrington and some of his top assistants offered an early glimpse of the station plan to representatives of the Midtown business community.

"We were shocked at how far along they were in their planning," said Daniel A. Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership. After hearing that the station could be built from below, with little disruption of activity at street level, the audience deemed it "a clever plan," he said.

As currently imagined, the station would be like a subway station with several platforms, directly below 34th Street, extending to just east of Seventh Avenue from Eighth Avenue. Commuters would be able to connect underground to Penn Station and several subway lines or ascend to the street near Macy's and Herald Square.

It would effectively double the number of trains and passengers that could travel in from New Jersey and points north and west, and planners hope it will take many riders and drivers out of the buses and cars that clog the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

In the last 10 years, New Jersey Transit has more than doubled the number of trains going into Manhattan during the morning rush, to 186 last year from 88 in 1994. But the existing tracks, in use since 1910, cannot accommodate any more, said Richard T. Roberts, New Jersey Transit's chief planner. Every weekend, one of the tracks in the existing tunnel, which runs to Penn Station from North Bergen, N.J., has to be shut down for maintenance, he said.

The tunnel would yield economic benefits too, Mr. Roberts said. A study that the agency commissioned estimated the project could create 44,000 permanent jobs in the region and increase its economic output by more than $9 billion by 2025.

Those numbers spurred the interest of the Partnership for New York City, said Ms. Wylde, who acknowledged the political hazards of backing the plan in the midst of a chess match among various city and state interests.

"For New York to support a New Jersey project is difficult because we're competing for scarce resources," Ms. Wylde said. "We still see this primarily as a New Jersey initiative, but one that deserves regional support. We would urge New York and New Jersey to work together on the ARC project."

Mr. Coscia and Mr. Warrington still have work to do on that front. Charles A. Gargano, a vice chairman for the Port Authority, said last week that the tunnel and station "could be a project of the future."

But, he added: "It's certainly not in the immediate plans. We only have so many projects we can handle at one time. I'm not being negative, but we have to be realistic."

At the moment, Mr. Gargano has other transportation plans on his mind. He is leading the drive for the expansion of Penn Station into the James A. Farley Post Office across Eighth Avenue, a move that Mr. Warrington agrees is needed. Mr. Gargano is also pushing for one of Gov. George E. Pataki's favorite ideas - digging a tunnel under the East River that would provide a direct rail link to the Wall Street area from Long Island and Kennedy International Airport.

That project would cost $6 billion, and Mr. Pataki and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg are trying to ensure its future with $2 billion of unused federal tax credits that were earmarked to rebuild downtown after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. They also expect to get $560 million for it from the Port Authority and another $400 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"We will have almost $3 billion for this project," Mr. Gargano said. "Right now, I don't see that for ARC."

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/01/13/nyregion/tunnel.184.2.jpg
George D. Warrington, New Jersey Transit's executive director, has met with business leaders in New York.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[Deimos]

I have 2 concerns with this project:

1. do we really need another station next to penn station?

2. does this project take into account the fact that penn station will be moving to the other side of 8th avenue at some point in the future? (assuming that the answer to 1 is a yes)

[TonyO]

I have 2 concerns with this project:

1. do we really need another station next to penn station?

2. does this project take into account the fact that penn station will be moving to the other side of 8th avenue at some point in the future? (assuming that the answer to 1 is a yes)

That is a good point, and I am surprised they never mentioned the Farley building being a potential hub itself rather than build a new terminal.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The "terminal" may just be an underground complex, with links to Penn Station and the subways.

A good drawing of Penn Station underground is on page 2 of the New Penn Station (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=1055&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=15) thread.

[TonyO]

So all the platforms at a Moynihan station would be used thus making this seperate complex necessary?

[TonyO]

They're talking about this right now on WNYC...

http://www.wnyc.org/

[Deimos]

They're talking about this right now on WNYC...

http://www.wnyc.org/

what did they say?

[TonyO]

They talked about this tunnel expansion and the proposed ship terminal in Redhook. This tunnel expansion was labeled having more impact on the economy than the LIRR/JFK rail link to lower manhattan.

There was a lot said - mostly speculative, and it turned into almost entirely Redhook discussion as there is a lot of interest/concern there. They said it was extremely unlikely that a subway expansion would touch Redhook.

[alex ballard]

The ultimate solution to the New Jersey access problem is this: Build another Penn Station under the Farley building. Then give the old platforms to LIRR and the new terminal can go to NJT/Amtrak. Then split the NEC at secaucus to enter a tunnel at 44st where a new terminal for NJT/Amtrak trains under the main concourse of GCT, so as to not interfre with the MNR and LIRR. Then the whole access problem is solved.

[Kris]

February 9, 2005

New Jersey Transit Is Set to Urge a New River Tunnel for a Commuter Link to Midtown

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/t.gifwo days after President Bush threw his financial support behind a rail link under the East River, New Jersey officials are to make a pitch today for a different rail tunnel, this one under the Hudson River.

According to a study they plan to release today, New Jersey Transit officials believe a new tunnel into Manhattan from the west would increase economic activity in the region by $10 billion and add $480 million a year to its tax base by 2025. By then, a decade after its completion, the tunnel would have helped to create 44,000 jobs, two-thirds of them in New York, the report concludes.

Those estimates were derived from projections of how many jobs would be generated in Midtown by the additional commuters the tunnel would carry. Transit officials said the current eastbound commuter rail system was nearing full capacity.

The economic study is the latest salvo in the competition for federal and state money to pay for huge improvements to the region's transportation infrastructure. New Jersey officials are lining up to push for the rail tunnel, which would connect to a new station under 34th Street between Sixth and Eighth Avenues.

The project, which would include improvements to North Jersey commuter lines, and the $5 billion that would be needed are a long way from reality and have some formidable rivals.

New York's governor, George E. Pataki, is pressing for construction of a rail link between Lower Manhattan and Long Island that would speed travel between Kennedy Airport and downtown. That project, expected to cost $6 billion, got a boost this week when the Bush administration included $2 billion for it in the federal budget.

That money, which would come out of a federal tax incentive package that was intended for redeveloping Lower Manhattan, is being lined up even though the plan's feasibility and economic and environmental impact have not been studied. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is already committed to paying $500 million of the construction costs of the downtown rail link if it proves feasible.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said Charles A. Gargano, vice chairman of the Port Authority and a Pataki appointee. "With the president's proposal, we have $3 billion. That's about 50 percent of what the estimated cost is."

Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority, reiterated yesterday that he believed a new Hudson tunnel should have first priority among mass transit plans because "it does actually provide more for the region than any of the other projects." Mr. Coscia was appointed by James E. McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey.

Robert D. Yaro, the president of the Regional Plan Association, said he considered a new Hudson tunnel to be critical to continued expansion of New York's employment base. He added that he also supported the plan to improve rail connections between Manhattan and Long Island and to build a Second Avenue subway.

"The problem here is we haven't built any new capacity in 60 years," Mr. Yaro said. "This is going to come down to having the funding in place and having the political will in place to do these things."

The study, which was conducted for New Jersey Transit by Economics Research Associates, says the entire region would grow during and after the building of the tunnel and proposed improvements to commuter rail lines in North Jersey.

Over the 10 years that the study estimates the project would take to complete, it would create an average of 3,920 construction jobs each year, according to the report. During that period, the regional economy would grow by $4.5 billion and the income of the region's residents would increase by $2.7 billion, the report estimates.

Once the construction is completed, the ability to bring in more workers would help the economy to grow much faster and benefits would spread from Hunterdon County in western New Jersey to Fairfield County in Connecticut, the report says.

Outside of New York City, the part of the region that would benefit the most would be an area covering four counties in North Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic. Over the first 10 years of its use, the tunnel would help to create an average of 1,475 jobs and add $157 million to the economy in that area each year, the study says. A four-county area to the west, comprising Morris, Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren, would receive only about 10 percent as much benefit, it says.

Although the aim of the project would be to increase and improve rail access between Manhattan and the west side of the Hudson, the report says Westchester County and Fairfield County would get significant benefits, including an average annual increase in personal income in both counties of $26 million. That gain would come from Midtown jobs for residents of those counties, said Richard T. Roberts, chief planner for New Jersey Transit.

"They get a proportionate share of the new jobs in New York City," Mr. Roberts said. "The real message is this is a bistate project that benefits New York in a number of ways."

Mr. Coscia said the best argument for the Hudson tunnel is what will not happen without it. "If we don't build this tunnel, we're going to eliminate the potential for growth, add to congestion and ultimately the region will suffer, not just New Jersey," he said.

Copyright 2005 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html) The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[pianoman11686]

Some Say Macy's Tunnel Doesn't Go Far Enough

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

Published: July 28, 2005

The idea of another train tunnel under the Hudson River came a step closer to reality yesterday, but not without impassioned arguments against its ending at a station below Macy's flagship store in Midtown.

New Jersey Transit's board unanimously approved the proposed route of the tunnel, which would run 15 feet beneath the bed of the Hudson to Midtown from northern New Jersey. The approval was a prerequisite to seeking federal financing for the project, whose cost is estimated to be $6 billion.

Officials of the transit agency have been stumping for the plan for years, arguing that the 95-year-old tunnel it shares with Amtrak is nearing capacity and will not be able to handle the projected population growth west of the Hudson. The existing two-track tunnel ends at Pennsylvania Station, a block south of where New Jersey Transit wants to build a station as far as 100 feet below 34th Street.

Nobody who spoke at the agency's board meeting disputed the need for another tunnel, which actually would be twin tunnels, each with a single track. But several insisted that the tunnel should reach farther, to Grand Central Terminal, to deliver commuters closer to their East Side offices. They also questioned the safety of tens of thousands of riders unloading and loading on platforms several stories below ground.

"The plan is costly and inconvenient for rail passengers," said George Haikalis, chairman of the Regional Rail Working Group and a resident of Greenwich Village. He said that "constructing a deep cavern station under Macy's" would pose "significant risks to passengers."

A representative of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, Albert Papp Jr., assailed the plans for the West Side station and a new terminal for the Long Island Rail Road that would be built beneath Grand Central.

"We don't need two more stations in Manhattan," said Mr. Papp, who urged the directors to postpone a decision and meet with other transit agencies to develop a regional solution to transporting more commuters to and from Manhattan.

But New Jersey Transit's executive director, George D. Warrington, said he had already ruled out seeking permission from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to connect the tunnel to Grand Central, in part because it would sharply inflate the project's cost. That estimate has already increased from the original $4 billion projection, he said.

"You have to be practical and realistic about what you can do," Mr. Warrington said. "That extension adds billions of dollars to the project. We've got to bite off what we can."

He said the proposed station site also fits with the goals of New York's mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, and his deputy, Daniel L. Doctoroff, who have championed the redevelopment of the area west of Penn Station.

Mr. Warrington received the support of the Regional Plan Association, a research group that had favored having trains run through the tunnel, then loop counterclockwise through a few new rail stations spread around Midtown.

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[TLOZ Link5]

Mr. Warrington received the support of the Regional Plan Association, a research group that had favored having trains run through the tunnel, then loop counterclockwise through a few new rail stations spread around Midtown.


Interesting concept, definitely good for economic development.

How will this proposed new station appear aboveground? Is it expected to be entirely subterannean?

[TonyO]

New rail stations: bad idea. There has to be some way to use Grand Central or Moynihan station.

[TLOZ Link5]

New rail stations: bad idea. There has to be some way to use Grand Central or Moynihan station.

I disagree on the first point and agree on the second. NJT is at the disadvantage that it only uses one terminal in Manhattan, and even then its concourse is small compared to those of LIRR or even Amtrak. This is while the New Jersey suburbs continue to boom while mature suburbs in Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island have grown much less rapidly, if at all.

A new terminal at Herald Square and the multiple subway and other transit lines there allows for a more convenient commute to the rest of Midtown for NJT customers. It's key to New York's economic future, possibly even more so than East Side Access. Perhaps there will be an eventual connection to Grand Central, but it's not a priority now.

[NIMBYkiller]

Extend NJT tracks 1-5 to the lower level of GCT. That way NJT can serve both stations with the same train.

[Ninjahedge]

George Haikalis, chairman of the Regional Rail Working Group and a resident of Greenwich Village. He said that "constructing a deep cavern station under Macy's" would pose "significant risks to passengers."


I would like to know what the "risks" are.

Also, who is to say focusing everything at the same station is a GOOD idea? Is GCS big enough to handle a significant increase?

I think they should plan for any possible extensions in the future and make the construction easily adaptable for them, but leave them out for now.

One thing though. The only thing I would say would be necessary would be a convenient connection to NYC subways. Are we talking about a 6 flight climb to the A+E?

[Kris]

March 17, 2006
Regional Transit Council Puts Hudson Tunnel on List
By PATRICK McGEEHAN

A group of New York political leaders and transportation officials threw their support yesterday behind a project that would start in New Jersey — a $6 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

The group, known as the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, voted to add the proposed tunnel to its list of major projects that need to be built during the next 25 years. Projects must be on the list, known as the regional transportation plan, to qualify for federal funds.

The council, whose members represent city and state agencies and five suburban New York counties, published a regional plan last year that did not include the trans-Hudson tunnel. But at its annual meeting yesterday, the council amended the plan to add the tunnel, a top priority of officials in New Jersey, over the objections of some who prefer different configurations for the project.

The vote occurred just minutes after the council's co-chairmen announced that its members had settled on some shared goals and would work in concert to identify transportation projects that would meet them. This newfound spirit of cooperation will help in obtaining more federal financing for improvements in the region, said Thomas R. Suozzi, the Nassau County executive, who completed a one-year term yesterday as a council co-chairman.

"It's important that we, as a region, try to establish a vision that will target growth" and contain suburban sprawl, said Mr. Suozzi, a Democrat who is running for governor of New York. He added that the council had recognized in the past year that "working together, we'll be much more effective than we have been working separately."

The council is responsible for tracking long-term transportation projects that will require financing from the federal government. In the past, it had no mechanism for measuring the relative benefits of big projects and prioritizing them. As a result, local officials lobbied against one another for money in Washington, pitting bridges against tunnels against subway lines.

Now, the council is developing a process for gauging a project's importance by certain criteria, including its potential benefits to the regional economy, environment and quality of life, said Thomas J. Madison Jr., commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation. Mr. Madison is a co-chairman of the council, along with Iris Weinshall, the transportation commissioner of New York City, who succeeded Mr. Suozzi yesterday.

Other members represent Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties.

Mr. Madison said that the council's direction had been uncertain beyond lining up financing for two big projects: a subway under Second Avenue in Manhattan and a connection for the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal under the East River.

All told, the council has identified $70 billion in needed but unfinanced projects, including the possible replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, Mr. Madison said. With the prospect of declining amounts of money from Washington, Gov. George E. Pataki is pushing for legislation in Albany that would allow the state to enter partnerships with private companies to build or operate highways, bridges or other public assets.

Mr. Madison said: "This is something we need to look at. Financing is going to be an incredibly important part of our discussions in the future."

On that score, adding the trans-Hudson rail tunnel — two single-track tubes — to the regional plan was painless. The plan was amended to include the tunnel, which would stretch from northern New Jersey to a terminal deep under West 34th Street in Manhattan, on the premise that its financing would come from New Jersey or Washington.

New Jersey Transit, the project's sponsor, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have pledged to find the money from state and federal sources. George D. Warrington, New Jersey Transit's executive director and a council member, said yesterday that he was "deeply grateful" for the council's action.

The approval came despite objections from some transportation advocates who argued that burying New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road platforms in "deep caverns" more than 100 feet below street level, as has been proposed, would be too expensive and dangerous.

George Haikalis, who said he was the president of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, called for connecting the tracks through the proposed new tunnel to Pennsylvania Station and on to Grand Central Terminal. That plan would cost less, attract more commuters and save travel time, he said, but it has been rejected because it would require unprecedented cooperation among regional transportation officials.

Mr. Suozzi asked the council's staff to prepare a rebuttal to the criticism.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[TonyO]

George Haikalis, who said he was the president of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, called for connecting the tracks through the proposed new tunnel to Pennsylvania Station and on to Grand Central Terminal. That plan would cost less, attract more commuters and save travel time, he said, but it has been rejected because it would require unprecedented cooperation among regional transportation officials.

The obvious best result is impossible because it will take too much cooperation. NY politicians and their appointments are almost completely useless.

[injcsince81]

The obvious best result is impossible because it will take too much cooperation. NY politicians and their appointments are almost completely useless.

That's why you need a Robert Moses.:)

Cooperation, shmooperation.

[ablarc]

That's why you need a Robert Moses.:)

Cooperation, shmooperation.
An even better paragon might be Baron Haussmann. When he evicted folks from their premises, he made them just as unhappy as did Moses. The difference: in hindsight, there's little fault to be found in Haussmann's product (essentially today's Paris), while Moses' legacy seems something of a mixed bag. If he'd built the Lower Manhattan Expressway his reputation would likely be lower.

Haussmann's Paris turned out incredibly well. If you were inclined to argue that some ends justify the means, Haussmann's Paris could be Exhibit A.

[JCMAN320]

Corzine buys the ticket for Trans-Hudson rail tunnel in 2009

Thursday, May 11, 2006
BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff

Promising to help North Jersey commuters make a great escape from mounting congestion, Gov. Jon Corzine and top members of his administration said yesterday groundbreaking for construction of a railroad tunnel linking New Jersey and Manhattan will happen in 2009.

"For a lot of personal reasons, in 2009 there will be a shovel in the ground that year," said Corzine, who could be seeking re-election that year, too. "I am absolutely committed to that project, and it will happen."

Plans for the $6 billion Trans- Hudson Express (THE) tunnel dominated the annual Governor's Transportation Conference in Trenton, with top officials from New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the state Department of Transportation laying out funding schedules and timetables for the project.

Philip K. Beachem, president of the highway contractor's lobbying group Alliance for Action, kicked off the seminar by unveiling a bi- state campaign to promote the project with the New York Building Conference.

Preliminary studies already are under way, and George Warrington, executive director of New Jersey Transit, said his agency is scheduled to hire an engineer in July to lay out the full alignment of the tunnel and its approaches through the Meadowlands, Palisades and under the Hudson River. By the end of the year, he said, the agency plans to seek a construction manager.

"We are very, very committed to delivering this project to the people of New Jersey over the next decade," he said. "It is the most important project in 100 years."

Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority, added his agency's endorsement, saying construction of the tunnel was as important to the current generation as the building of the Lincoln Tunnel and George Washington Bridges were earlier.

"I'm committed to the Port Authority making a multibillion-dollar investment into that project," he said. "That's a project that clearly people years from now will look back and say it was the turning point in creating a regional economy."

Warrington said the current two tracks under the Hudson carry a maximum of 23 trains per hour. He said the state already has taken steps to expand the existing tun nel's carrying capacity by adding cars to trains, improving signaling, and preparing to introduce double- decker cars later this year.

"We're all done squeezing; there's simply nothing left to wring out," he said. "We must build a tunnel and we must build it now."

Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at dmcnichol@starled ger.com or (609) 989-0341.

[tmg]

With Corzine and Spitzer both on the same page about this project, the prospects for it look good. And that's good news, because this is one of the most important projects for the future of New York City.

Over the next 35 years, the U.S. population is expected to grow by about 93 million. How many of them live and work in the New York metro region depend on our ability to build enough infrastructure capacity to move them around. This project will play a major role in ensuring that the region's historic radial commuting patterns remain viable.

[Dagrecco82]

I know this is off topic but will we ever seen a new tunnel like the Lincoln or Holland? The traffic in these tunnels at time is unbearable!

[tmg]

No. There isn't enough street capacity to absorb more traffic volume. If you build a new tunnel, there would be gridlock in the city.

[lofter1]

What is clearly needed is a tunnel that takes auto traffic directly from NJ > Brooklyn / Queens, bypassing Manhattan altogether.

This should be one of the major 21st Century projects for the metro area.

[ablarc]

From http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2959&page=12:

How about the Under-Manhattan Expressway? New Jersey to Queens with no Manhattan access or exits. Shorter than many tunnels in the Alps.
God Bless you if you can make THIS happen
What is clearly needed is a tunnel that takes auto traffic directly from NJ > Brooklyn / Queens, bypassing Manhattan altogether.
This should be one of the major 21st Century projects for the metro area.
Lol, and God bless you too, lofter1. Good to have you in the Pie-in-the-Sky Society.

I guess we're both charter members. ;)

.

[billyblancoNYC]

What is clearly needed is a tunnel that takes auto traffic directly from NJ > Brooklyn / Queens, bypassing Manhattan altogether.

This should be one of the major 21st Century projects for the metro area.

And from LI for CT.

[Ninjahedge]

LI would not want that.

Why would North Fork want to have people able to get to them directly from CT in 30 minutes?

They like their isolation (Although I too agree that access would be nice).

[BigMac]

AM New York
May 15, 2006

Senators push for new tunnel between NJ and NYC

The Associated Press

Two U.S. senators are joining the governor of New Jersey to push for a new tunnel under the Hudson River to increase train traffic into Manhattan.

U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey were to hold a news conference Monday at Penn Station to ask that federal approval be sped up for the first stage of engineering on the proposed Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel.

The $6 billion "THE Tunnel" would be used for additional trains from New Jersey into Manhattan.

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine last week said nearly $500 million would be used for the tunnel, which advocates say would double rail capacity between two states over the next two decades.

Also this month, the U.S. senators from the two states wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta urging financial backing for the project.

As proposed, the tunnel would begin in North Bergen and continue under Union City and Weehawken, extending to a new station under 34th Street in Manhattan between Sixth and Eighth avenues.

Copyright 2006 AM New York

[TonyO]

NY1

Senators Push For New Rail Tunnel Under Hudson River

May 16, 2006

Senators from both New York and New Jersey are pushing for a big investment in a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey are calling for the federal government to speed up the approval process, allowing for the $6 billion project.

"Our region is growing, Thank God, but we are bursting at the seams,” said Schumer. “We need new transportation. ARC, the tunnel under the Hudson will open the floodgates so that millions more workers and visitors can come to midtown and Manhattan."

The tunnel would run between North Bergen, New Jersey and Penn Station.

If federal funding comes through, tunnel construction could begin as soon as 2009.

-------------------------------------

Bad reporting or something new? I always thought that with the construction of Moynihan Station, the refurbishing and opening up of Penn (w/ relocation of MSG) why have a completely new station?

[ablarc]

If federal funding comes through, tunnel construction could begin as soon as 2009.
"as soon as"?

.

[eldondre]

so while it woudl take $3 bn to get the whole corridor up to speed, nj will get a $7bn tunnel all its own. nice.

[pianoman11686]

New Hudson Rail Tunnel Is Nearing Federal Approval

By RONALD SMOTHERS

Published: July 19, 2006

NEWARK, July 18 — New Jersey Transit is expected to get authorization this week from federal transit officials to begin preliminary engineering work on constructing a second two-track train tunnel under the Hudson River into Manhattan.

The anticipated federal approval was called a “significant milestone” on Tuesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine and transit advocacy groups in the 15-year effort to build support for the estimated $6 billion project.

The second tunnel would allow for a significant increase in the number of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains entering and leaving New York. The current tunnel can accommodate only 19 trains an hour at peak times and remains the choke point in the system.

Governor Corzine, who as a United States senator from New Jersey pushed for the crucial language in an appropriation bill that indicated the project enjoyed strong regional support, called the expected authorization “further confirmation that we are moving this along.”

“I have a goal of putting a shovel in the ground on this project by 2009,” he said in an interview. “Then I will feel that I have done something as a U.S. senator.”

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, who over the years had sponsored appropriation bills that have funneled $22 million to New Jersey in federal planning money for the project, said he was eagerly anticipating the authorization. He added, jokingly, that “you know this will connect the Frank R. Lautenberg Station in Secaucus with the planned Daniel P. Moynihan Station in Manhattan.”

The new tunnel would go to the proposed Moynihan station and the basement at Macy’s in Manhattan.

Senator Robert Menendez, who replaced Mr. Corzine in Washington, said the project would add 44,000 jobs and $10 billion to the economy.

Paul Griffo, a spokesman for the Federal Transit Administration, said the agency would notify Congress this week of its decision to allow planning to continue. The next step in receiving full federal financing for the project is the final design.

“All of these hurdles must be cleared to get to the holy grail of a full funding grant agreement,” said Mr. Griffo, adding that the process takes from 6 to 12 years. The federal government’s contribution would be limited to 80 percent of the project’s cost. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreed to pay $2 billion for the project. The rest could come from New Jersey. Mr. Griffo said the transit agency is eligible for federal grants.

The idea of a second train tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey has been talked about since the early 1990’s as a way of easing traffic jams on the roads and expanding economic opportunities for the two states. The need for the second tunnel became more pronounced after service began on the Morris-Essex Line in 1996, followed by the Montclair-Boonton Line in 2002.

For much of that time New York officials had been cool to the idea, seeing it mostly as a project that aided only New Jersey and competed with New York projects seeking federal financing. But in recent years, according to Thomas Wright, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association, New York officials have come to view it as fitting in with the redevelopment of the Far West Side of Manhattan, and as a necessary backup to the current tunnel since 9/11.

“Had New York opposed the tunnel, it would have been easy for the federal government to turn it down,” Mr. Wright said. “But we have studies showing that between 1980 and 2000, 89 percent of new commuters into the city came from west of the Hudson, and this is the group from which an expanded Manhattan business district will be drawing.”

Jon Orcutt, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit mass transit advocacy group, said that the only problem on the horizon for New Jersey was whether it would have enough revenue coming into its Transportation Trust Fund to finance the state’s part of the cost over the next five to six years.

Governor Corzine said the state was prepared to put $500 million into the project over the next five to six years. Thereafter, the state plans to replenish the trust fund, he said, for what he termed would be an “extraordinary centerpiece of an effective and efficient mass transit system for the region.”

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[pianoman11686]

Port Authority Set to Vote On Hudson Tunnel Fund

By PATRICK McGEEHAN

Published: July 27, 2006

After years of talking up the need for a second commuter-rail tunnel under the Hudson River, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is ready to make a hefty down payment on a $7.2 billion project.

Port Authority commissioners are scheduled to vote today to authorize spending up to $2 billion on the project, which would include a two-tube tunnel connecting Manhattan and New Jersey and a terminal under 34th Street at the foot of Macy’s flagship store.

Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority, has said the trans-Hudson tunnel should be the region’s top transportation priority because it would increase capacity on the overcrowded commute to New York City from the fast-growing western suburbs. Until now, the Port Authority has only talked about helping to pay for it without making a firm commitment.

The financial move is critical, the project’s supporters say, because it will allow them to seek billions more from the federal government, having shown a substantial level of local support.

Mr. Coscia said the board would vote on authorizing at least $1 billion for the tunnel, with the intention of including up to $1 billion more in the 10-year capital plan that the Port Authority will adopt later this year. The project, whose main sponsor is New Jersey Transit, the state-run commuter train and bus network, is scheduled to begin construction in 2009 and to be completed by 2016. Its cost is estimated at $7.2 billion, adjusted for inflation over the next 10 years, said George Warrington, the executive director of New Jersey Transit.

“This is clearly a substantial and huge down payment, which allows us to signal to the federal government that up front and well in advance of construction we have already amassed significant financial commitments,” Mr. Warrington said. He said that it was too soon to determine what parts of the project the Port Authority would pay for.

Jon S. Corzine, the governor of New Jersey, has already pledged $500 million for the tunnel from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. Like Mr. Coscia, Mr. Corzine has been a vocal backer of the trans-Hudson tunnel, first in Washington as a senator and now in Trenton.

The New Jersey officials consider the tunnel a sure thing, but even with a financial commitment from the Port Authority, the project could encounter obstacles. It is one of several multi-billion-dollar transportation projects on the drawing boards, including a subway line on Second Avenue, and it will eventually have to compete with some or all of them for federal money.

Not even all the officials of the Port Authority are in agreement that the Hudson tunnel should be first in line for the agency’s money. The vice chairman, Charles Gargano, an appointee of Gov. George E. Pataki of New York, still favors a rail link between Lower Manhattan and the Long Island Rail Road and Kennedy International Airport.

Mr. Gargano said the Hudson tunnel should be one of the Port Authority’s priorities but “not the No. 1.” He added the caution that this was “the beginning of a very long process” and “many things have to happen” before either project can be built.

Mr. Gargano pointed to an impending vote in Congress to authorize the conversion of $1.75 billion in tax credits for use in building the rail link to Kennedy. If the House and Senate approve that conversion soon, he said, “That is certainly a positive for that project.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Coscia said a big commitment to the Hudson tunnel would demonstrate a new spirit of collaboration between the competing interests on the Port Authority board. He said it was time to make decisions based on the potential benefits to the entire region rather than as a division of assets between the two states.

“There seems to be a willingness, clearly, at the Port Authority and among those who control it,” he said, “to allow the Port Authority to resume its historical role of planning major infrastructure projects and not focus on a quid pro quo between the two states of pet projects.”

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[Kris]

July 28, 2006
Manhattan: $2 Billion for Hudson Tunnel
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday authorized the spending of $2 billion toward a proposed $6 billion commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River. The financing approval is a significant step for the proposed two-track tunnel, a project that would double commuter rail capacity between the two states in a decade. Construction could begin as soon as 2009 and be complete by 2016. Adjusting for inflation over the next decade, the project is expected to cost $7.2 billion at completion, said George D. Warrington, executive director of New Jersey Transit, the project’s sponsor.

[JCMAN320]

Hudson River tunnel moves forward

NJ Transit is moving forward with its plan to build a second trans-Hudson River rail tunnel stretching from Secaucus to a new station deep below Midtown Manhattan.

The NJ Transit board of directors today approved an $82.5 million contract to begin engineering on a tunnel that will double commuter rail capacity between New Jersey and New York.

The approval comes less than two weeks after the Federal Transit Administration notified Congress that it will formally approve preliminary engineering of the project, following a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and funding review.

And last week, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey committed up to $2 billion to fund construction, or roughly one-third of the $6 billion pricetag.

Bonnie Friedman

[Bob]

This is good news. And believe it or not, this comes from someone who thinks we also need to triple our interstate highway capacity. Both modes of travel are worthy of investment.

[pianoman11686]

Plan for New Rail Tunnel Takes Turn Toward Reality

By JONATHAN MILLER

Published: August 13, 2006

SECAUCUS, N.J., Aug. 11 — It was just a few years ago that New Jersey Transit’s executive director would try to explain — to anyone who would listen — the wonders of building another commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River. And every time, he would see eyes glaze over.

“People would say, ‘Great idea,’ ” George D. Warrington, the executive director, said in a recent interview. “ ‘Maybe my grandchildren will see it.’ ”

But a series of events in the last few weeks have made it more likely that it will not just be grandchildren, but their grandparents, too, who will see the completion of what is being called the Trans-Hudson Express tunnel, which would link New Jersey with Midtown.

The 9.3-mile project would cost an estimated $7.2 billion, create as many as 44,000 jobs and more than double the number of trains that cross the Hudson River during rush hour. Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey says the second rail tunnel, with its target completion date of 2016, is “vital to the state’s economic future.”

The first action to brighten the project’s prospects came last month when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey committed up to $2 billion toward the tunnel’s completion — a move that would have been considered highly unlikely several years ago.

Weeks earlier, the Federal Transit Administration authorized $82.5 million to conduct preliminary engineering. And two weeks ago, the New Jersey Transit board approved preliminary work on the reconstruction of an aging bridge in the Meadowlands that is vital to the tunnel project.

In a potential side benefit to New York residents, said one high-ranking Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official who declined to be identified, the authority has begun talking about help to finance a project in New York that would link Grand Central Terminal to the Long Island Rail Road.

All of which, leaders in both states say, means the project has reached a turning point.

“The big hurdles will be technical — like tunneling — rather than political,” said Jon Orcutt, the executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an advocacy group. When asked, on a scale of one to 10 (10 being the highest) whether he thought the tunnel would become a reality, he said, “I think we’re around 7 or 8.”

Just how the tunnel project was rescued from the scrapheap of grand ideas is a decade-long tale of cross-state rivals laying down their swords and embracing the realities of regional economics, and of a Democrat-controlled state convincing a Republican-dominated Congress of the economic necessity of the costly project.

For the last 96 years, one two-track tunnel has run under the Hudson River into Pennsylvania Station in New York, and now carries 40,000 commuters a day. During peak travel hours there are about 23 trains, including Amtrak, coming and going through the tunnel, and a second tunnel — that would end 100 feet below 34th Street below the basement of Macy’s flagship store — would bring that number to 48. The project would create a loop south of Secaucus Junction, giving riders on the Bergen, Main and Pascack Valley Lines a direct ride into Manhattan without having to switch trains in Secaucus or Hoboken.

The plan’s most forceful advocate has been Mr. Warrington, a former president and chief executive of Amtrak, who was appointed to run New Jersey Transit in 2002. Almost immediately after taking the job, he began trying to resurrect the notion of a second tunnel, taking over the stalled initiative that had been started by the Port Authority.

Along the way, he persuaded the Port Authority’s chairman, Anthony Coscia, to get behind the project.

Together they began proselytizing among politicians, real estate developers and business leaders in New York, contending that the entire region and not just New Jersey would profit from building a second tunnel.

It was hard finding believers.

Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, an advocacy group for New York businesses, says this is the first project since the 1962 agreement to build the World Trade Center in which New York and New Jersey seem to have come together. There had been tension between the two states over New Jersey trying to lure businesses across the river.

“It reverses a generation in which we were accusing New Jersey of piracy,” Ms. Wylde said in a recent interview, “but it represents the reality of post-9/11 New York, that we are trying to keep businesses in the region.”

In addition, both New York senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, have endorsed the project, as has Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The solidarity was crucial in persuading federal authorities to take the project seriously.

For Mr. Coscia, the project returns the agency to its roots and a mission that he said “we have sometimes not lived up to.”

“If our mission is to move people between two states,” he said, “adding another lane to the Lincoln Tunnel won’t do it.”

He and others point to studies that suggest the greatest growth in the area will come west of the Hudson. “An increasing proportion of our workforce can only afford to own a home in New Jersey, and have basically relocated there,’’ Ms. Wylde said. “Twenty-five, thirty years ago the safety valve was Long Island, twenty years ago it was Rockland and Orange. Last decade, it’s been New Jersey and even Pennsylvania.”

Governor Corzine is perhaps one of the project’s highest-profile advocates. As a United States senator in 2005, he took what most observers say was a crucial step when he helped insert language into a transportation bill stipulating that the secretary of transportation “shall give strong consideration to the project for a full funding grant agreement.”

And as governor, Mr. Corzine has promised that New Jersey will commit at least $500 million to the project. Some New York officials, once hostile to the tunnel project, now laud it, and, transportation officials say behind the scenes, are using it to exert pressure to deliver projects that are perceived as more beneficial to the city and state.

In a speech before the Regional Plan Association in May, Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general who is running as a Democrat for governor of New York, strongly hinted that several projects in New York should be worthy of Port Authority money, including the Second Avenue Subway line and a link from the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Terminal.

For now, it seems like the Port Authority is willing to go along. When asked about the worthiness of such projects, Mr. Coscia agreed that the $6.3 billion Long Island Rail Road project, called East Side Access, was worthy of financing.

“I think East Side Access is a very strong project, and I can see the Port Authority consider participating in it,” he said. “If you look at East Side Access and the tunnel, it’s two sides of the coin. They’re literally different pieces of the same project.”

Another Port Authority official agreed with Mr. Coscia, but scoffed at another favored project of New York politicians, a link to Kennedy Airport from Lower Manhattan, calling it “ridiculous.”

As for the tunnel project, finding the $5 billion or so needed to complete the project remains the primary obstacle.

While the federal government could finance about 60 percent of the project, New Jersey’s financial difficulties have been well-documented, and the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, the pot of money that goes toward highway repairs and that narrowly averted bankruptcy this year, will need a more permanent fix down the line.

In addition, it is unlikely that the Port Authority will spend its $2 billion without getting any return on such an investment. Mr. Warrington said that he has suggested a financial arrangement in which the Port Authority could share revenue with New Jersey Transit from commercial and retail development at the proposed Moynihan Station at 34th Street, which New Jersey Transit would control.

“This is a conceptual offer that we’ve made,” he said, “and it’s more than reasonable to allow the Port Authority to participate in any of those commercial opportunities.”

Transit advocates warn that with so many big-ticket items planned, a fare or toll increase may be necessary for Port Authority-owned properties, although agency officials say the $2 billion committed thus far to the tunnel project is within the agency’s resources.

For now, optimism remains high, but Mr. Corzine warned against assuming the deal is sealed. “The die is not cast yet,” he said. “We’ve made real progress. New Jersey is putting its dough down and you see what the Port Authority’s doing. We still have hurdles to overcome and we will continue to make the case very strongly that this is a project of crucial regional and national significance.”

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[TriHobo]

PORT AUTHORITY TO BEGIN ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY FOR TRANS-HUDSON EXPRESS TUNNEL
Date: October 19, 2006
Press Release Number: 82-2006


After authorizing the largest contribution to date toward the Trans-Hudson Express (THE) Tunnel of up to $2 billion in July, the Port Authority Board of Commissioners today authorized the commencement of identifying and eventually acquiring property in New York City for the project’s construction.

The THE Tunnel will be an additional passenger rail tunnel connecting New York City to New Jersey and to Rockland and Orange counties in New York.
The project includes the expansion of New York’s Penn Station beneath 34th Street in Manhattan. The Board’s action makes up to $75 million available for property acquisition as part of the Port Authority’s overall commitment to the THE Tunnel project. In July, the Port Authority allocated $10 million for the project’s preliminary planning and engineering activities.

“Today’s action demonstrates the Port Authority is again delivering on its commitment to ensure that THE Tunnel becomes a reality,” said Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia. “We believe this project will be our generation’s George Washington Bridge, increasing mobility and spurring economic growth throughout the region, and we are making another down-payment on the project.”

Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, “The need for this project is unquestioned and the Port Authority recognized its significance long ago.

Among its innumerable other benefits, THE Tunnel will facilitate development along West Midtown and provide, for the first time, a one-seat ride from Rockland and Orange counties to New York City.”

Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth J. Ringler Jr. said, “Over the next ten years we expect to see the 240,000 commuters currently crossing the Hudson every day grow at a dramatic rate. THE Tunnel project is one of the key solutions to ensuring our transportation network meets the demands of a growing region.”

The $75 million for property acquisition is the second allocation from the up to $2 billion the Port Authority has committed to the project. The Port Authority allocated $10 million in July for preliminary planning and engineering activities.

The bistate agency’s ten-year strategic plan, adopted in December 2005, recognized THE Tunnel as crucial to regional prosperity. Today’s action by the Board is consistent with the strategic plan’s goals and the agency’s long-standing commitment toward THE Tunnel and related mass transportation projects. Prior actions include $250 million for multilevel rail cars for NJ Transit; $150 million for NJ Transit's Meadowlands Rail Spur; $145 million for leasing space at the new Moynihan Station; $20 million for NJ Transit and Empire State Development Corporation near-term capacity improvements to Penn Station New York; and $5.5 million as a cosponsor of THE Tunnel Major Investment Study.

In July, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) advanced the THE Tunnel to the preliminary engineering phase of the federal “new starts” process – a significant step in acquiring future federal funding.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; the Port Authority-Downtown Manhattan Heliport; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

The Port Authority is financially self-supporting and receives no tax revenue from either state.

[ablarc]

^ Fixin' to get ready to get started.

[urbanaturalist]

Can they make that tunnel capable of upgrading to Maglev technology when the time comes. Would be good for future rail technology.

[TonyO]

The THE Tunnel will be an additional passenger rail tunnel connecting New York City to New Jersey and to Rockland and Orange counties in New York.

How do they figure this? I lived in Orange county, NY a while back and it was necessary to take a commuter train into Hoboken and transfer there to Penn. Does this mean that this new tunnel will have direct connection for this route?

[JCMAN320]

In a word yes.

[JCMAN320]

NJ TRANSIT HIRES CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FIRM FOR TUNNEL PROJECT
Consortium will play critical role during design of Access to the Region’s Core program

December 13, 2006
NJT-06-153
Contact: Penny Bassett Hackett or Dan Stessel 973 491-7078

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today took another significant step in advancing the region’s most important public transportation project in decades by hiring THE CM Consortium of Newark to provide construction management services for its new trans-Hudson tunnel, and related station, track and yard projects.

“This is another major step forward for a project that will reap huge dividends for the regional economy,” said NJ TRANSIT Chairman and Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri. “Mobility is key to continued economic growth, and only a new tunnel will double our capacity to accommodate increasing numbers of rail customers traveling between New Jersey and New York.’’

The decision to hire a construction manager at this early stage of project development, during the preliminary engineering phase, underscores NJ TRANSIT’s commitment to ensure creation of a practical design that will be built on time and within budget.

“Bringing a construction management firm on now reduces the risk of encountering unanticipated problems down the road,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George Warrington. “The consortium will work to make sure that the design is practical to build, which helps ensure that this once-in-a-generation project will be delivered on time and on budget.”

THE CM Consortium, a tri-venture of Tishman Construction, Parsons and ARUP, along with supporting firms, brings extensive worldwide experience in managing other large railroad construction and tunnel projects, including The Channel Tunnel Rail Link in Great Britain; the MTA Red Line project in Los Angeles; the Washington, D.C. Metro system; the Dulles Airport and Rail System Improvements; the AirTrain and Jamaica Station; and the only two major Tunnel Boring Machine projects in New York City – the New York City Water Tunnel #3 and the Con Edison 1st Avenue Tunnel and Steam Mains.

“The consortium firms are experts in real-world urban construction techniques, and their guidance will be extremely valuable as the design develops and as construction methods for each segment of the project are selected,” said Rich Sarles, NJ TRANSIT Assistant Executive Director for Capital Projects and Programs.

In addition to providing design oversight, the construction manager will make independent cost estimates to validate those made by the engineering team; develop a master project schedule for the engineering, permitting and construction phases; create a quality control plan; and coordinate outreach programs to ensure opportunities for participation of women- and minority-owned businesses in both New Jersey and New York.

The NJ TRANSIT Board awarded THE CM Consortium a contract of $5 million for this initial engineering phase following a competitive procurement process.

The Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) program includes two new single-track railroad tunnels between New Jersey and New York, a new rail station under 34th Street in Manhattan adjacent to Penn Station, and signal and track improvements along and adjacent to the Northeast Corridor.

The project will allow for the introduction of one-seat rail service on the Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley and Raritan Valley lines, the Montclair-Boonton Line west of Montclair, North Jersey Coast Line south to Bay Head, as well as the Morristown Line west of Dover. It will also create the capacity to connect the future Northern Branch Rail Line directly to Manhattan.

The proposed new multilevel station under 34th Street will provide underground connections to New York City subway lines (6th, 7th, 8th and Broadway) and PATH trains, as well as provide pedestrian connections to New York Penn Station. The project is projected to cost $7.2 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. Construction is expected to start in 2009.

[JCMAN320]

Topic: Kearny-Secaucus rail bridge

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak and NJ Transit will hold a public meeting today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Newark Public Library, Centennial Hall, 2nd Floor, 5 Washington St., Newark.

The environmental, economic and social impacts of the proposed Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project will be discussed. The bridge spans the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus and is an important link in the Northeast Corridor System.

Members of the public can register to speak and a brief presentation will be given from 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

For more information, call (917) 339-9488 for information or visit www.portalbridgenec.com.

COTTON DELO

[JCMAN320]

Feds approve next step for Trans-Hudson tunnel

1/19/2007, 7:25 p.m. ET
By JANET FRANKSTON LORIN
The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A plan to build a $7 billion rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey has cleared a regulatory hurdle, with federal officials giving initial approval to the project's effects on the environment.

The two-track tunnel, a massive project discussed for more than a decade, would double commuter rail capacity between the two states. Construction could begin as soon as 2009 and be complete by 2015.

"This is a critical step toward getting a shovel in the ground in 2009," said New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine. "This project is important not only for transit capacity and continued economic growth, but it will provide crucial redundancy that will enhance rail security."

The Federal Transit Administration approved the draft environmental impact statement on Thursday and notified New Jersey on Friday afternoon, said Kris Kolluri, New Jersey's transportation commissioner. That step moves the project closer to receiving approval for construction money.

"It's a major milestone," he said. "It's a significant recognition by the federal government that this is an important project for the region and for the country."

The approval allows the two states to begin scheduling public hearings. The next step would be final approval of the environmental impact statement.

After a federal decision expected next year, the states would be able to begin negotiating how much cash the federal government would kick in.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has already committed up to $2 billion for the project; New Jersey has kicked in an additional $500 million.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said the project provides regional benefits and is "one of the key bi-state initiatives that I support."

New Jersey officials hope the federal government will pay half of the cost.

The project already has some heavy hitters behind it, most notably the four U.S. senators from the two states, and their two governors.

"It will add needed capacity for commuters, reduce the congestion on our highways and improve our environment," said U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

The new tunnel would double to four tracks the routes between the states, giving NJ Transit flexibility when Amtrak trains slow traffic. Amtrak owns, operates and maintains the Northeast Corridor line into Penn Station, so its trains are given priority over the local transit agency.

In addition to getting people in and out of Manhattan quickly, it would give commuters in New York's Rockland and Orange counties a direct route into New York without transferring.

[NIMBYkiller]

I hope they atleast gave a thought to other possibilities, like extending to downtown. For the money being spent on a new tunnel and an entire new lower level at Penn Station, I think they might as well go to new territory. Branch off east of Newark, run under Jersey City, and then to downtown.

[Bob]

What's up with that "environmental impact" stuff? They're planning a tunnel. What could possibly be the impact of removing dirt from dirt? Maybe the dirt and rocks are too dirty?

Seriously, what gives? We built the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, and quite a few rail tunnels around NYC, all without an EIS. Life went on.

[ablarc]

Gotta keep the report-writers employed.

[Jake]

Where is the dirt going?
What underground waterways will be cut off?
By what means will the tunnel be ventilated?
What is the impact of entrance and exit construction?

I don't know if you realize this but the ventilation towers in tunnels carry concentrated carcinogenic fumes that can't be near an inhabited area. They also release these toxins in a small area, making their impact larger. A lot of sediment is also kicked up during construction impacting water quality.

All of the NYC tunnels were designed long before World War II, so I don't think "the environment" was even a field of study back then.

[tmg]

The project will also have regional impacts on development and travel patterns. For example, it will help the Midtown CBD continue to grow.

If the project doesn't have large regional impacts, then why build it at all?

Since 1970, all government decisions that have an impact on the natural or human environment -- broadly defined -- must assess the impacts and provide an opportunity for public input before they move forward. Yes, these reports are expensive and time-consuming, but they are also ensure that the public is informed of the scope and impacts of major policy decisions before it is too late. It is the price of democracy.

To read further...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act

[TonyO]

The project will also have regional impacts on development and travel patterns. For example, it will help the Midtown CBD continue to grow.

If the project doesn't have large regional impacts, then why build it at all?

Since 1970, all government decisions that have an impact on the natural or human environment -- broadly defined -- must assess the impacts and provide an opportunity for public input before they move forward. Yes, these reports are expensive and time-consuming, but they are also ensure that the public is informed of the scope and impacts of major policy decisions before it is too late. It is the price of democracy.

To read further...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Environmental_Policy_Act

Are you saying that the tunnel is not a good idea?

[kliq6]

no need to debate if its worth building, contract has been signed by joint venture that will build it

[TonyO]

Feds to give $16M for Hudson tunnel

Thursday, March 1, 2007
AP

NEWARK -- The federal government will fund an initial $16 million in preliminary engineering costs for a $7.5 billion tunnel that would connect New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River, New Jersey's two U.S. senators announced Wednesday.

The two-track tunnel, a massive project discussed for more than a decade, would double commuter rail capacity between the two states. Construction could begin as soon as 2009 and be complete by 2016.

The funding share among the states, the federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has yet to be determined. In general, new mass-transit projects receive about 50 percent in federal matching funds, said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for New Jersey Transit.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has already committed up to $2 billion for the project; New Jersey has kicked in an additional $500 million.

The public will have a chance to comment on the project at a series of public hearings on March 13 in Newark, March 14 in North Bergen and March 27 in New York.

[JCMAN320]

NJ TRANSIT ANNOUNCES HEARINGS ON ACCESS TO THE REGION’S CORE STUDY
Public invited to comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement

March 5, 2007
NJT-07-018
Contact: Penny Bassett Hackett or Dan Stessel 973 491-7078

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT will conduct the first of several public hearing and information sessions Tuesday, March 13, to give the public an opportunity to learn about the findings of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) study—which features a new trans-Hudson tunnel as its centerpiece—as well as ask questions and offer comments.

Information regarding the ARC DEIS, and accompanying documents, is available on the project website: www.accesstotheregionscore.com.

The hearings will be conducted in an open house format and will include informational displays and presentations. Members of the public may register in advance to speak at the hearings by calling (877) ARC-0999.

To ensure an inclusive public comment process, NJ TRANSIT has scheduled three public hearings—each with a daytime and evening session—as well as two information sessions at locations in New Jersey and New York from March 13 through March 27.


Public hearing schedule

Public hearings will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. as follows:

Tuesday, March 13 - North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, One Newark Center (17th Floor), Raymond Boulevard, Newark, NJ

Wednesday, March 14 - Schuetzen Park (Main Ballroom), 3167 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ

Tuesday, March 27 - Fashion Institute of Technology (Great Hall), 27th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, Manhattan, NY


Additional information sessions

In addition to the scheduled public hearings, NJ TRANSIT will hold two “informational sessions” in Rockland and Orange counties, New York, to receive comment from members of the public who are unable to attend one of the three public hearings. As a practical matter, public hearings and information sessions will be conducted in a similar manner, except that only private testimony will be accepted at the information sessions.

NJ TRANSIT informational sessions will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as follows:

Tuesday, March 20 - Palisades Center Mall (4th Floor Community Room), 1000 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, NY

Thursday, March 22 - Orange County Government Center (Legislative Chambers), 255 Main Street, Goshen, NY

Members of the public also may submit comments concerning ARC DEIS findings through April 10, 2007 via email to deis@accesstotheregionscore.com or via standard mail delivery to: Tom Schulze, NJ TRANSIT ARC Project Director, One Penn Plaza East, 4th Floor, Newark, NJ 07105.


About Access to the Region’s Core

The Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) program includes two new single-track railroad tunnels between New Jersey and New York, additional station capacity under 34th Street in Manhattan, and signal and track improvements along and adjacent to the Northeast Corridor.

The project will allow for the introduction of “one-seat” rail service to New York on the Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley and Raritan Valley lines, the Montclair-Boonton Line west of Montclair, North Jersey Coast Line south to Bay Head, as well as the Morristown Line west of Dover. It will also create the capacity for future rail extensions.

The project includes expanded station capacity north of New York Penn Station under 34th Street, with underground connections to several New York City subway lines (A, B, C, D, E, F, N, Q, R, V, W, 1, 2, 3) and PATH trains.


About the DEIS

The Access to the Region’s Core Draft Environmental Impact Statement builds on findings of a Major Investment Study (MIS) conducted by NJ TRANSIT, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Completed in April 2003, the MIS identified and evaluated alternatives to provide additional trans-Hudson passenger access.

The findings of the MIS serve as the foundation for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 that ensures a full and open evaluation of environmental issues and alternatives for major transportation projects applying for federal funding. The DEIS compiles an assessment of the proposed project’s effects on social, economic and environmental conditions.

The ARC DEIS is sponsored by NJ TRANSIT in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

[JCMAN320]

New train tunnel to NYC? Most can dig idea

Thursday, March 15, 2007
By ALI WINSTON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

NORTH BERGEN - A small but supportive crowd turned out yesterday for an afternoon hearing at Scheutzen Park for a massive $6.3 billion commuter rail project that includes a new tunnel under the Hudson River, a new train station at 34th street in New York City, and a new rail yard in Kearny.

Held the day after another hearing in Newark - a final one is scheduled for Tuesday in New York - the hearing gave residents an opportunity to voice their opinions about a public works project that proponents say would be a boon to commuters, local infrastructure, and the environment.

The goal of the NJ Transit project - the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel - is to increase ridership by adding two tracks that would run to a new station at 34th Street between Sixth and Eighth avenues in Manhattan.

In addition, modifications to the Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station would allow NJ Transit riders on the North Jersey Coast, Montclair-Boonton, Raritan Valley, Pascack Valley, and the Main and Bergen County lines to travel directly to New York City.

"It's a terrific idea, I hope the project goes ahead," said Steve Hirschman, of Teaneck, who attended yesterday's hearing.

A regular rider on the Pascack Valley line, Hirschman complained about the extra 15 minutes added to his commute because of the transfer in Secaucus and of train delays caused by congestion in the existing tunnel.

"It's a win-win situation," he said.

The project, slated to begin in 2009 with service beginning in 2016, has been lauded by politicians, environmentalists, and unions.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, for whom the Secaucus station is named, and Rep. Albio Sires, D-West New York, both testified in support at Tuesday's hearing in Newark. The Sierra Club, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, and the Hudson County Building and Construction Trades Council have all spoken in favor of the project.

The project has received $2.5 billion in funding from the state and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and would increase peak morning service to Manhattan from 23 to 48 trains per hour, according to the environmental impact report.

[NIMBYkiller]

Yeah, that modification is a huge loop that will have trains running through the station twice and render the BRAND NEW transfer station completely useless

[JCMAN320]

I wonder what will become of the station? I know JC wants to extend the lightrail over the 6th St. Embankment and through the Bergen Arches to Secaucus Junction it goes. I hope that doesn't affect the route.

[NIMBYkiller]

I still think that the loop is a foolish waste of money. The tunnels and new lower level not so much, because perhaps now with NJT using the new tunnels and new lower level, there can be a boost in Amtrak as well as NJT service, possibly even Metro North from the Hudson Line.

However, I'd rather see all the efforts and money(including that being used for the tunnel/new lower level) being used to send trains to downtown. It would line up perfectly with the West of Hudson lines(Pascack Valley, Bergen, Main, Port Jervis), and would be easily accesible by all the other lines currently running to Hoboken.

It'd be 3 terminals(which is essentially what this project is doing), but in 3 different places, versus 3 terminals in 2 places. This line would actually run via the Bergen Arches

As far as HBLR is concerned, I believe that was ONE of multiple proposals. I think most of the future work is at the southern end of the line in Bayonne. I personally would like to see the line run across the bay to Newark. I don't see much of a use for a line from Secaucus since you can already bet from Secaucus to Hoboken. Also, if you're destination is Jersey City, you transfer in Hoboken or Newark to PATH(or also HBLR in Hoboken).

I guess my reasoning against HBLR via the Bergen Arches is becuase I think the better use would be another commuter rail line, this one to downtown with a stop in Jersey City. Over the years, they've tried to shove all the trains from multiple waterfront terminals into just 2(Hoboken and Penn). It's just not going to work.

[spatulashack]

This really NEEDS to be built. Anyone who says it is a waste of money doesn't use NJtransit during rush hour. The fact of the matter is that trains are almost always delayed 5 - 10 minutes at Seacaucus because there is just not enough room left to squeeze anymore trains into the two tunnels. Also, all the trains are approaching over-crowding to rival the Lex in Manhattan. This tunnel needs to be built yesterday. As for rendering the new transfer station useless, that is completely untrue. First of all, the tunnels won't be built for another 10 years and without that transfer station, the situation would be even WORSE with Hoboken being overcrowded and PATH trains even worse than they are now. Seacaucus station was needed and welcome. Even after the tunnels are finished, the station will most likely become a heavily used commuter station instead of just a transfer station like it is now. Not to mention, people will STILL need to transfer even with the new tunnels because some trains will head into Hoboken and some into Manhattan. Also, the transfer is needed for those to the north on the Main and Bergan lines to access Newark Airport. This project MUST be built. It's just as, if not more important than the Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan.

[NIMBYkiller]

You obviously haven't paid attention to a single word I said. I said that I agree a tunnel IS NEEDED. I said I feel the money would be BETTER SPENT on a tunnel to downtown, but that this project is still EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

The part that I said was useless is the LOOP. Perhaps you're confused. The LOOP will be running trains from the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen, and Pascack Valley Lines through Secaucus Transfer, around a HUGE circle, and through Secaucus Transfer a second time. The main purpose of this station is to allow people from the lines mentioned above the ability to reach Penn Station by New Jersey Transit. The ability to use it to reach Newark, the airport, and other areas south is just an added benefit.

I'd rather see those lines mentioned above sent to downtown. AT THE SAME TIME, I'd like to see another Hudson River tunnel to Penn Station built, that way NJT isn't delayed anymore and, maybe, JUST maybe, Amtrak can run a few more trains or Metro North can come in from the Hudson line.

So, in the end, I say build the new lower level and tunnel to Penn Station. DON'T build the loop. In the future, build a line for the Bergen/Main/PVL/Port Jervis lines, as well as any other line, to send trains downtown

[debris]

I believe the Bergen Arches could be used to send Main Line trains to Jersey City? And from there, a new tunnel? But the JC mayor wants light rail through the Bergen Arches.....

[NIMBYkiller]

He wants light rail, road lobbyists want a highway, and some of us want commuter rail. I think we're all at equal opportunity for what we want to be accomplished b/c really, there aren't any plans for the light rail(atleast nothing that has been made public). I've seen just as many news articles about light rail as I have about a highway.

I think that light rail is the 2nd best option, with commuter rail being the best.

[JCMAN320]

PORT AUTHORITY APPROVES AGREEMENT TO BECOME FULL PARTNER AGENCY WITH NJ TRANSIT IN TRANS-HUDSON EXPRESS TUNNEL

Date: March 29, 2007
Press Release Number: 26-2007

The Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners today approved a memorandum of understanding with NJ Transit that makes the Port Authority a partner agency in the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel and gives the agency the primary responsibility for real estate acquisition and construction management in New York.

The Board’s actions will advance the planning and development of the project, also known as Access to the Region’s Core. The initiative will create a second passenger rail tunnel connecting Manhattan to New Jersey, and includes expanding track and platform capacity adjacent to Penn Station New York beneath 34th Street in Manhattan.

The document establishes a framework for the Port Authority and NJ Transit to enter into a formal agreement to advance the project’s planning, development, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, construction and related activities.

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, “This is exactly the type of major construction project that the Port Authority was created to do. It will allow this agency to use its extensive engineering expertise to provide much-needed capacity enhancement for interstate travel, and will help ensure that the regional economy remains strong.”

Port Authority Executive Director Anthony E. Shorris said, “We must commit to ARC now to ensure our region’s economic health for years to come. Millions of commuters now use the region’s roads, rails, bridges and tunnels each day, and projections call for extensive growth across the metropolitan area in the next 10 to 20 years. If we don’t act to relieve future burdens on the region’s transportation network, we won’t be ready to deal with these new commuters when they arrive, and the region’s economic vitality will suffer. By starting early, we’re ensuring that our region is primed for growth.”

Under the memorandum of understanding, a steering committee consisting of an equal number of staff from the Port Authority and NJ Transit will be formed to provide oversight and leadership for the project. NJ Transit will be primarily responsible for real estate acquisition and construction management in New Jersey.

The Port Authority’s Board has previously committed up to $2 billion towards the project, inclusive of up to $75 million for the identification and acquisition of property in New York City needed for the tunnel project, as well as $10 million for preliminary planning and engineering activities associated with the project. The project includes improvements to the Northeast Corridor rail line, the purchase of coaches and locomotives, and the acquisition of property or property rights.

NJ Transit recently released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project and public hearings ended this week. The comment period ends on April 10.

[NIMBYkiller]

And no mention of the Secaucus loop

[STT757]

And no mention of the Secaucus loop

Page 12

http://www.accesstotheregionscore.com/images/ARC%20RCLC%206-29-05.pdf

[NIMBYkiller]

Dont even bother. Those are the same guys who once had linking Penn Station and Grand Central on their site, complete with fancy diagrams and everything. Where's that project now? Dead. Read: CONCEPTUAL alignment plan. Nothing is written in stone y