210 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Crain's New York Business, 12/30/18:
 

Cuomo writes to Trump to save Gateway tunnel project

Governor makes case for 50-50 cost share, but is promptly rebuffed

 

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office Sunday sought to rescue the federal government's commitment to funding a new commuter tunnel under the Hudson River—a deal President Donald Trump's team declared "nonexistent" on Friday.

 

In a letter to a U.S. Department of Transportation official, Cuomo's budget director recalled an August meeting between Trump, his Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the New York and New Jersey House and Senate delegations. The subject was the Obama administration's 2015 promise that Washington would furnish half the costs of the Gateway project, a plan to construct a passenger rail tube into Manhattan for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, to refurbish the corroded existing conduit and rebuild the Garden State's Portal Bridge, among other upgrades.

 

"USDOT stepping away from the 50-50 framework now would represent stepping away from a previously agreed upon path and the entire basis for getting this critical national infrastructure project done," the budget director, Robert Mujica, wrote to Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams.

 

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[EvergreenRailfan]

This is bordering on insanity, the tunnels are not getting newer. I wished the funding could be found, with little politics, so the construction can begin, as I assume that will have a lot of impacts. Right now in Seattle, a major transportation hub, the Seattle Ferry Terminal, is undergoing a necessary modernization, and the work will take years, without shutting the terminal down.(There are no other options) Now I understand with these tunnels, it's three states and the Federal government is involved. Also, I admit I got a little worked up looking at the comments in one of the above articles. Also, with interoperability issues among some of the operators, such as the EMU'S of the Metro North and LIRR date back to the legacies of their former owners being fierce competitors?

[CNJRoss]

 

 

Trump Wants Power Back To States, Ends Obama Plan To Fund East Coast Amtrak Project

 

January 13, 2018

 

 

 

 

President Trump put the kibosh on a deal President Obama had made with New York and New Jersey, supported by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), that would have split costs between the two states and the federal government to repair damage to the deteriorating Amtrak tunnel connecting them. Fox News reports that the rail tunnel project would have cost $13 billion, with the states getting their portions in the form of loans from the federal government.

 

The deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, K. Jane Williams, wrote to New York and New Jersey declaring that there was no formal binding agreement making the federal government responsible for going through with the project. Williams wrote that “the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders” rests with the states.

 

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Note poor photo choice!

[CNJRoss]

NorfthJersey.com, 2/13/18:
 

Trump infrastructure plan bumps Gateway tunnel to the back of the line

 

 

Two years ago, a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River into New York's Penn Station was considered one of the most important infrastructure projects in the country.

 

Yet the $12.7 billion Gateway project did not even rate a mention in the much-ballyhooed blueprint for revamping American infrastructure that was unveiled Monday by President Donald Trump.

 

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[CNJRoss]

AP via Asbury Park (NJ) Press, 2/12/18:
 

Rail tunnel backers feel shorted by Trump plan

 

 

NEWARK – Proponents of a $13 billion project to build a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey seen as critical for the future of the nation’s busiest rail corridor are panning President Donald Trump’s infrastructure proposal.

 

The budget released by the White House on Monday envisions $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending over the next 10 years; however, only $200 billion would be direct federal spending aimed at leveraging state and local dollars.

 

State and local governments would be able to use the federal money for up to 20 percent of their project’s cost, which is vastly different from the model state and local officials supporting the tunnel project have relied upon. 

 

SNIP 

 

Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said Monday’s budget proposal “would put unsustainable burdens on our local government and lead to Trump tolls all over the country,” referring to the plan’s proposal to sell some federally owned roads.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Amtrak news release:

 

Statement from Amtrak President & CEO Richard Anderson on FY2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

March 22, 2018

 

WASHINGTON – “Amtrak applauds Congress for providing increased funding for intercity passenger rail, including grants to Amtrak, in the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.  Amtrak thanks Congress for recognizing the importance of intercity passenger rail and the Northeast Corridor (NEC).  The increased NEC capital funding will allow us to address many important needs along the Corridor and we look forward to working closely with the Department of Transportation on investing these funds to advance the most critical projects.”

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Bloomberg 3/22/18:
 

Spending Bill Goes to Senate Ahead of Shutdown Deadline

 

 

The House passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that would avert a government shutdown and increase funding for the military, border security and other domestic programs, though a GOP senator who opposes the measure hasn’t said whether he’ll force a delay past a Friday funding deadline and cause a closure.

 

SNIP

 

Hudson River Tunnel

One of the biggest obstacles to reaching the agreement was the status of funding for a Hudson River tunnel between New York and New Jersey. Advocates, mainly Democrats and Republicans representing the two states, argued it is one of the most important infrastructure projects in the U.S. But Trump has insisted on removing money for the project, known as Gateway, from the spending plan.

 

The spending agreement omits language steering money to the Gateway project, although the project could access about half the funds supporters are seeking -- as much as $541 million -- through other accounts, one congressional aide said. Additional funding would be available to the project through Amtrak and grants that don’t require approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the aide said.

 

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 10/9/18:
 

Batory: FRA to complete Hudson tunnel project's EIS by early 2019

 

 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is in the "final chapters" of completing a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed replacement of Amtrak's Hudson River tunnels, FRA Administrator Ronald Batory told a U.S. Senate panel last week.

SNIP

Known as Amtrak's Gateway program, the proposed project would replace aging rail tunnels under the Hudson River that Amtrak and commuter trains use to operate between the two states. Gateway also includes replacing the decaying North Portal Bridge, of which New Jersey Transit is the largest user.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 10/18/18:

 

Cuomo tours Hudson River tunnels in push for federal funding

 

"The tunnel has a number of structural issues and they are only going to get worse,"

said Cuomo (in black jacket), as he toured the Hudson River rail tunnel last night.

Photo – Gov. Cuomo's Flickr account

 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling on President Donald Trump and other Washington, D.C., officials to "stop playing politics" and fund the federal government's share of the Hudson tunnel project.

Cuomo made the comments late last night as he toured the North River tunnels to see the damage both tubes sustained during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The tubes were inundated with seawater, causing falling concrete, corroded electrical cabling and standing water damage. 

 

SNIP 

 

Cuomo said he will send a video of the tunnel tour to Trump "so that the president has a visual understanding of the serious deterioration of the tunnels."

 

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[BillMagee]

Where's his hardhat, vest, safety glasses and other PPE?