Bob Ingle on the Hudson River Tunnels

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

New Jersey Press Media senior columnist Bob Ingle’s Sept. 26 column is notable for quoting NARP Member Phillip Craig’s testimony before the NJ Assembly’s Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee. Craig insisted, “We are not faced with either the tunnel as is or no tunnel;” the tunnels should go to Penn Station, eliminating the need for the new 34th Street Terminal NJT has planned.

Ingle refers to NJT’s project as “the third Hudson tunnel,” after the existing one and “a second Amtrak is planning.” These all are pairs of single-track tunnels—there are two tracks now, and would be six in total if all the plans get built. What is commonly referred to as what “Amtrak is planning” is conceived of as fifth and sixth tunnels identified in the NEC Infrastructure Master Plan, which was the product of a multi-agency working group. These tunnels would be used both by commuter and intercity trains.’’

The key messages now:

Ask Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff to make sure that the FTA keeps the $3 billion earmarked for Hudson River tunnels, which everyone agrees is needed, while New Jersey works through design and cost issues.
If you live in the Northeast, express concern to your governor and your federal legislators about the need to redesign the Hudson River tunnels so they connect to Penn Station.
If you live in New Jersey, emphasize to Gov. Christie, your U.S. senators and representative, and your state legislators, that you strongly support building the tunnels but want a new, serious review of the need to direct them to New York’s Penn Station and the savings that could come from eliminating the 34th Street Terminal.

—Ross Capon

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: arc, bob ingle, chris christie, column, congress, hudson tunnel, new jersey, new tunnels, passenger trains, peter rogoff, ray lahood, take action, transportation
(0) Comments

ARC Debated on Half-Hour Public Television Show

Monday, September 27, 2010

For an interesting discussion about the Hudson River tunnels and the 30-day freeze Gov. Christie has put on the project, watch this clip from “On the Record,” a NJN Public Television program.

The “star” from NARP’s point of view is Joseph Clift, representing the Regional Rail Working Group, who agrees that new tunnels are absolutely necessary but argues—as NARP has—that they must go to New York’s Penn Station, not “Macy’s basement.” The three other panelists are State Senator Michael Doherty (R), Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D) who chairs the NJ Assembly Transportation Committee, and Zoe Baldwin of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Doherty is skeptical of the project’s costs but agrees, if it is built, it should go to Penn Station. Wisniewski and Baldwin believe any effort to change the project will kill it. Clift gets the last word.

UPDATE: The embedded link now redirects to an unrelated episode. You can find the episode about the Hudson River rail tunnels at On the Record’s website.

—Ross Capon

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: arc, assemblyman john wisnewski, debate, hudson tunnels, joe clift, new jersey, njn, public television, regional rail working group, sen michael doherty, tri-state transportation campaign, zoe baldwin
(0) Comments

NJT Halts Work on Flawed Tunnel Project

Monday, September 13, 2010

In what today’s New York Times reported as “a highly unusual move, officials at New Jersey Transit…said over the weekend that they had placed a 30-day moratorium on all new work and contract bids until they could determine if the project’s cost would be covered by its budget.”

The Newark Star-Ledger reported that “federal officials say the project may go as much as a billion dollars over budget—money New Jersey doesn’t have. The month-long suspension of all new activity—imposed by NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein in the wake of concerns by the Federal Transit Administration—will be used to re-examine the budget numbers…Weinstein remains convinced the tunnel project will survive, although there are other dynamics in play. Money for transportation projects is already in short supply and the nearly broke [New Jersey] Transportation Trust Fund — which pays for highway and rail programs — is now on life support and there is little appetite to raise tolls or a gas tax to replenish the capital improvement fund.”

While their public comments make no reference to changing the design of the project—an $8.7 billion plan that would not link new Hudson River rail tunnels to New York’s Pennsylvania Station—NARP members and others who have been pressing to fix the design have also noted the project’s finance problems. In a jointly-signed August 24 letter to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James Simpson, NARP President Ross Capon and University of Pennsylvania Emeritus Professor of Transportation Vukan Vuchic addressed cost-saving opportunities. The letter began with the following four points:

A link between the new tunnels and Pennsylvania Station (NYP) is essential and is compatible with both items (2) and (3).
Eliminating the 34th Street Terminal offers both transportation and cost-saving benefits (with comparable combined capacity at an expanded Penn Station or by proceeding directly to Grand Central).
Deferring construction of the 34th Street Terminal combined with increasing capacity at NYP can also be considered, particularly because NJT does not expect to fully utilize total Hudson River tunnel capacity in the initial years after the new tunnels open.
Alternatively, taking NJT’s original plan for a 34th Street terminal and restoring the New York Pennsylvania Station link to it can be done with a 2.5% gradient, which is steeper than NJT’s preferred 2.1% and yet less than an existing NJT 2.7% grade at Rahway. To our knowledge, the gradient question has not been discussed, or at least not adequately. Adhering to ideal engineering standards is, as always, desirable, but in this case its cost of such adherence is unacceptably high.

Part of the reason that this flawed project has advanced so far is that so many people are unaware of its fatal flaw, finding it hard to believe that officials would propose to spend so much money on Hudson River rail tunnels that do not connect to Penn Station. The more that Secretary LaHood, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and New Jersey officials hear about public concern over the problem, the more likely it is that design flaws will be addressed.

Letters to the editor which name responsible public officials are a good way to get your views heard.

- -Ross Capon

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: 34th street, access to the region's core, amtrak, deep cavern, design flaws, hudson river tunnels, new jersey transit, new york city, penn station
(2) Comments

Roads, Railways and Runways

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

President Obama’s Labor Day announcement in Milwaukee is praiseworthy, not only because it focuses on creating jobs that address real public needs, but also because the President quietly, but emphatically, placed rail on an equal footing (rhetorically speaking) with highways and aviation. Every time Obama referenced the targets of investment in the speech, he listed the three R’s: roads, railroads and runways. This was also the case in subsequent press coverage of the announcement.

On the rail side, the President called for the construction and maintenance of 4,000 miles of railroad, enough track to go coast-to-coast. It is not known, though, how this will break down between true high-speed and improved conventional-speed track, and in what proportion passenger and freight operations will benefit. Obama also specifically mentioned “a long-overdue overhaul of Amtrak’s fleet” as part of his rail plan—recognizing that new and improved services must be built on the backbone of a healthy Amtrak system. The passenger railroad’s two-sentence statement [PDF] on the Obama plan calls it “a smart move with major benefits for increasing personal mobility, jump-starting job creation and improving the environment.”

The President also lays out his framework for using the next surface transportation policy legislation as a way to lay the foundation for sustainable American prosperity. It includes the establishment of a National Infrastructure Bank to tap private financing for projects in all modes and the integration of high-speed rail into the surface transportation program (from which intercity passenger rail is currently left out). Obama also stressed that transportation policy should work to enhance the livability of communities and environmental sustainability in addition to safety and economic competitiveness.

The President has heard Americans’ cries for more and better travel choices and for good domestic jobs, and has responded with a promising proposal. NARP, along with our partners at OneRail and Transportation for America, will remain engaged in the battle to turn the president’s promising words into deeds. Getting there will require reliable, dedicated funding as well as continued strong support from the White House and from Congress, private railroads, and—most importantly—the traveling public.

—Malcolm Kenton

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: economic recovery, goals, infrastructure plan, job creation, labor day, president obama, railroads, roads, runways, transportation investment
(0) Comments

» Recent Entries

» Blogroll

National & General

Regional & Local

» Terms of Service for Comments

You may register to post comments in response to NARP-generated postings on the Blog. By registering you agree 1) that all comments will be relevant to the respective posting and 2) not to post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or that violate any laws. We reserve the right to permanently block postings from any user who does not abide by the above terms. NARP reserves the right to remove, edit, or move any messages for any reason.