As a resident of NJ who now depends on NJ Transit? I’m very glad this money is out the door before the next administration. Trump stalled the Gateway project for 4 years and that means it’s 4 more...
As a resident of NJ who now depends on NJ Transit? I’m very glad this money is out the door before the next administration.
Trump stalled the Gateway project for 4 years and that means it’s 4 more years before we get new tunnels under the Hudson River and 4 more years before we can close one of the old tunnels that’s probably about 60 years overdue for maintenance and has residual “fucked-ness” from Super Storm Sandy more than 10 years ago.
Comment box Scope: summary, information Tone: neutral Opinion: a little Sarcasm/humor: none Yes, the most important pieces of Gateway are thankfully fully funded. The Portal North Bridge is more...
Comment box
Scope: summary, information
Tone: neutral
Opinion: a little
Sarcasm/humor: none
Yes, the most important pieces of Gateway are thankfully fully funded. The Portal North Bridge is more than halfway finished (I believe done by 2027). The Hudson Tunnel Project is also moving ahead speedily, thanks to the wise and forward-thinking decision to acquire the land under Hudson Yards in NYC for the east portal.
4 more years before we get new tunnels under the Hudson River
The president-elect's spiteful behavior toward NY/NJ in his first term was incredibly childish and short-sighted. The delay was totally unnecessary; even his transportation secretary wanted it to happen.
Gateway would have started in 2010 with ARC had the NJ Governor Chris Christie not pulled out of the plan at the eleventh hour. In addition to severely hampering the region's most important transit corridor, the last-minute cancellation wasted $600 million that NJ mostly had to pay back.
It looks like the two new tunnels will be done in 2035 and the existing tunnels will be rehabilitated by around 2038. It really could have been done by now. But there is little use focusing on the past. I'm excited about all the funding Amtrak has gotten for the reason you specify. Capital investment has decades-long impact, and the incoming administration can't do anything to change that. The system is getting much better!
Comment box Scope: summary, information Tone: neutral Opinion: none Sarcasm/humor: none The US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced another $1.5 billion going to passenger rail...
Comment box
Scope: summary, information
Tone: neutral
Opinion: none
Sarcasm/humor: none
The US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced another $1.5 billion going to passenger rail infrastructure projects along the Northeast Corridor. The funding covers over a dozen projects serving millions of riders.
This funding is largely available due to the 117th Congress' Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was a legislative priority for Joe Biden.
Many of these projects are bridge replacements and other changes that would have direct impacts on travel times by allowing for higher travel speeds (and less acceleration/deceleration). In the case of movable bridges, replacements would also improve reliability and minimize delays from the bridge becoming physically stuck. (Many of these bridges are 115+ years old.) Other grants focus on replacing old catenary wires, which deliver the trains' electrical power, as well as station redesigns and various planning grants.
Incremental improvements to travel times and reliability have an outsized positive impact on the region's connectivity and economic productivity because they enable faster and more frequent service and open up new possibilities for commercial growth.
FRA notes projects in this round of selections will replace aging catenary structures susceptible to failures that contribute to travel delays; improve several signal systems necessary to increase capacity, operating speeds and safety; and support planning activities to expand Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., among other projects, to further reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog on the corridor.
Selected projects:
(PA) $397,251,476: Mid-Atlantic OCS Replacement Program Phase 1: Zoo to Paoli Project
(NJ) $187,507,268: Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project Final Design Supplement and Pre-Construction Support Services
(CT) $172,000,000: Track Improvement and Mobility Enhancement (TIME)-1
(MD) $122,680,000: Baltimore Penn Station: Master Plan Completion Project
(CT) $102,000,000: Hartford Line Rail Program Double Track Phase 3B Project
(MD) $96,709,440: Bridge to Burgos Catenary Renewall (Mid-Atlantic Division South Catenary Renewal: Baltimore-New Carrollton)
(NJ) $80,277,321: Kearny Substation 41 Relocation Design and Construction
(NY) $72,548,687: New York Penn Station Reconstruction
(NY) $71,977,500: Gateway: New York Penn Station Capacity Expansion
(DC) $58,797,369: Washington Union Station: Near Term Rail Program
(DC) $24,000,000: Washington Union Station Expansion Project
(NJ) $18,639,205: New York Metro Signal System Upgrades to 562 Program Phase 1: County to Elmora
(MD) $17,791,015: Mid-Atlantic South Signal System Upgrades to 562 Project
As a resident of NJ who now depends on NJ Transit? I’m very glad this money is out the door before the next administration.
Trump stalled the Gateway project for 4 years and that means it’s 4 more years before we get new tunnels under the Hudson River and 4 more years before we can close one of the old tunnels that’s probably about 60 years overdue for maintenance and has residual “fucked-ness” from Super Storm Sandy more than 10 years ago.
Comment box
Yes, the most important pieces of Gateway are thankfully fully funded. The Portal North Bridge is more than halfway finished (I believe done by 2027). The Hudson Tunnel Project is also moving ahead speedily, thanks to the wise and forward-thinking decision to acquire the land under Hudson Yards in NYC for the east portal.
The president-elect's spiteful behavior toward NY/NJ in his first term was incredibly childish and short-sighted. The delay was totally unnecessary; even his transportation secretary wanted it to happen.
Gateway would have started in 2010 with ARC had the NJ Governor Chris Christie not pulled out of the plan at the eleventh hour. In addition to severely hampering the region's most important transit corridor, the last-minute cancellation wasted $600 million that NJ mostly had to pay back.
It looks like the two new tunnels will be done in 2035 and the existing tunnels will be rehabilitated by around 2038. It really could have been done by now. But there is little use focusing on the past. I'm excited about all the funding Amtrak has gotten for the reason you specify. Capital investment has decades-long impact, and the incoming administration can't do anything to change that. The system is getting much better!
Comment box
The US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced another $1.5 billion going to passenger rail infrastructure projects along the Northeast Corridor. The funding covers over a dozen projects serving millions of riders.
This funding is largely available due to the 117th Congress' Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was a legislative priority for Joe Biden.
Many of these projects are bridge replacements and other changes that would have direct impacts on travel times by allowing for higher travel speeds (and less acceleration/deceleration). In the case of movable bridges, replacements would also improve reliability and minimize delays from the bridge becoming physically stuck. (Many of these bridges are 115+ years old.) Other grants focus on replacing old catenary wires, which deliver the trains' electrical power, as well as station redesigns and various planning grants.
Incremental improvements to travel times and reliability have an outsized positive impact on the region's connectivity and economic productivity because they enable faster and more frequent service and open up new possibilities for commercial growth.
Selected projects:
You can read the original FRA press release for more information.
For details, see full project descriptions: FY 2024 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program for the Northeast Corridor (FSP-NEC) Selections: Project Summaries (or see a PDF of the project summaries).
Here's the Wikipedia page on the Northeast Corridor.