New Jersey Transit’s decision to begin an environmental impact statement for a second commuter rail tunnel between NJ and Midtown Manhattan is welcome news.  The two northeast corridor tracks that now make the connection have been jammed to capacity with NJ Transit and Amtrak trains for some time. A multi-agency planning project to address the problem was conceived early in the 1990s, and has identified many issues and obstacles, but has never charted a clear path toward construction.

NJ Transit said it would conduct the engineering and planning work with the Port Authority. Getting the work off the ground is geared toward earning the $4.5 billion project a prominent place in the 5-year federal transportation authorization that Congress will take up next year. NJ Transit chief George Warrington and state Transportation Commissioner James Fox said the project would move to the head of New Jersey’s transportation priorities.

Senators Corzine and Torricelli, in looking ahead to 2003’s federal funding bill, had already described the project in similar terms.  Torricelli is out of his re-election race, but former Senator Frank Lautenberg, his replacement as Democratic candidate, has a very strong record winning federal transportation funds for New Jersey.  To our knowledge, Republican candidate Douglas Forrester has not mentioned the issue. Forrester’s internet site does not discuss transportation or mass transit issues.

Eventually, the project will have to grapple with station capacity issues in Manhattan.  For now, however, NJ Transit’s strategy of inserting the project into next year’s federal legislation is a great opening move.

New York’s Congressional delegation should support the project.  The alternative to making it easier for New Jersey’s workforce to reach Manhattan is for more and more jobs to locate west of the Hudson.

It would be easy to write a fun piece recalling each of the “Penn Station-Post Office Project Back on Track” headlines we’ve seen over the years.

But perhaps last week’s are the real deal and the project will finally move forward.  However, while most agree that the present Penn Station is a poor entry-way to Manhattan, the transportation rationales for the Penn Station-Farley building project are often elusive.  Amtrak ticketing and boarding will move away from subway connections.  The grand entrance will be on a side street rather than a Midtown avenue, promising big cab jams.  Some now cite the prospect of a #7 subway extension as an answer to complaints about subway access. But the #7 plan is also generally mentioned in connection with better access to the Javitz convention center, several avenues west.  The Penn Station-Farley project proponents will need to begin better explaining its specific benefits if detailed planning does indeed begin.

Access to the Region's core project website

U.S. Lawmakers All Over the Map on New Hudson Tunnel 
(July 17, 2002)

ARC Misses the Mark 
(May 13, 2002)

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