Feds clear the way for rail tunnel

Thursday, January 15, 2009

NEWARK - State and federal officials say the multibillion-dollar New York-New Jersey rail tunnel project has completed the federal environmental review process.

The Federal Transit Administration's release of a "record of decision" yesterday clears the way for New Jersey to receive federal matching funds for the project. The local financing share of $5.7 billion is already in place.

New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez estimate the project will create 44,000 permanent jobs when completed in 2017.

The tunnel is the centerpiece of the Access to the Region's Core project, which will double train capacity into and out of Manhattan by adding two single-track tunnels under the Hudson River, expanding Penn Station in New York and funding track and signal improvements along the segment of the Northeast Corridor rail line between Newark and New York.

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FTW.

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I dispute your knowledge of Manhattan's office market.

Port Authority Of NY / NJ To Start Building $8.7 Billion Second Rail Tunnel In Hudson River Next Year

November 8, 2008 10:17 a.m. EST
AHN Staff

Trenton, NJ (AHN) - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will start the construction of a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River next year at a price tag of $8.7 billion, $1.1 billion more than its original budgeted cost due to inflation and additional contingency funding.

The new tunnel is seen to help the economy especially in creating jobs. According to the Asbury Park Press that for every $1 billion spent by the Port Authority for major projects creates 47,000 new jobs and $6 billion in additional economic output, citing port authority chairman Anthony R. Coscia.

The tunnel project will take about a decade to finish and will allow commuters to use NJ Transit trains to get to Manhattan, easing traffic and reducing carbon emissions.

The bi-state port authority, the State of New Jersey and the federal government will fund the tunnel project. New Jersey will provide 20 percent of the funding, while the port authority and the federal government will shoulder 40 percent each.

The State of New York's share is already covered by the port authority's share, while New Jersey will get its funding from toll increases in the state's turnpikes and Garden State Parkway next month.

The port authority has requested the federal government to fast track approval of the tunnel project including other projects worth $3 billion to stimulate the region's economy.

The tunnel funding is exclusive of new trains estimated to worth $400 million once the tunnel starts operating.

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I dispute that the majority of Manhattan jobs are anywhere NEAR Grand Central!

Hudson tunnel gets $75M boost

Saturday, July 12, 2008

NEWARK - A plan to build a new train tunnel into New York City just got a funding boost.

New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez have secured $75 million in appropriations for the project, dubbed Access to the Region's Core.

That's more than five times the amount that was dedicated last year.

The proposed $7.5 billion tunnel would double commuter rail capacity between the two states. It would be built alongside the existing rail tunnel.

New Jersey is asking the federal government to pay between $2.5 billion and $3 billion toward the project. The state and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would pay the rest.

The federal government wants New Jersey to come up with its share of funding by Oct. 1.

This is good news. where in NJ will the trains leave from? a new commuter terminal? secaucas?

Support for extending rail tunnel to near Grand Central

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
By TOM FEENEY
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

A new commuter rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River would be good. Extending it from the West Side of Manhattan to the East Side would make it better.

That's the central argument offered by the nonprofit Regional Plan Association in a report made public Monday.

New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plan to build an $8 billion commuter rail tunnel to provide much-needed capacity for getting trains back and forth between New Jersey and a new station beneath 34th Street, close to the existing Penn Station. The project, known as Access to the Region's Core, or ARC, is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

The RPA supports the project, but its report encourages the agencies to consider adding a second phase to connect the 34th Street Station to a new station beneath Madison Avenue at 45th Street, near Grand Central Terminal, on the East Side. The extension would provide New Jersey commuters with a one-seat ride to the part of Manhattan where a majority of jobs are located.

"Access to the Region's Core will have tremendous benefits for New York, New Jersey and the entire Mega-region," reads the report by RPA, an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization that has been working to improve the quality of life and the economic competitiveness of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region for more than 80 years. "These benefits can be expanded by considering a second phase of the project connecting to Manhattan's East Side," the report adds.

Gov. Jon Corzine has called the ARC project New Jersey's top transportation priority. The Port Authority has pledged $3 billion toward its completion, and New Jersey has pledged $1.5 billion. The agencies hope the Federal Transit Administration will pay for much of the balance.