NARP Urges NJ and NY Govs. to Restore Proposal for Critical Hudson River Rail Tunnel Link
- Details
- Published Date
- Written by Super User
- Category: Press Releases
- Hits: 218
Release #08-07—April 10, 2008
Contact NARP
Washington, D.C. April 10, 2008—Citing mobility and security needs for the nation’s most populated region, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) issued an open letter to Governors Jon Corzine (NJ) and David Paterson (NY) yesterday. It requests their intervention to urge NJ TRANSIT to restore a planned physical track connection between the proposed and current rail tunnels under the Hudson River.
In its $7.6 billion Access to the Region’s Core plan for the Trans-Hudson Express tunnel, NJ TRANSIT is proposing reconfiguration of tracks that will limit operational flexibility, especially in the event of an emergency. The new plans call for dead-end trackage deep underground, separate from existing New York Pennsylvania Station (NYP) tracks, eliminating a rail link that had been incorporated in earlier plans. This precludes use of the new tunnels for cross-New York City services, leaving Amtrak and future commuter rail services dependent on the existing pair of century-old tunnels.
The letter, signed by Ross Capon, the Association’s Executive Director, noted that New York City’s own police chief just this week spotlighted NYP as a critical but vulnerable transit hub. NARP’s letter stated, “a key security priority for NYP should be to eliminate the vulnerability associated with its dependence on two 100-year-old tunnels.”
“We appreciate the difficulties inherent in any major construction project in Manhattan. We understand that what we suggest might take longer to get done, and may cost more to build. But the costs of not linking the new tunnels with existing NYP far outweigh the technical difficulties and costs of creating the link, which we believe have been overstated,” NARP wrote in its letter.
In testimony delivered to an NJ TRANSIT hearing on April 1, Capon joined other citizen advocates by arguing that it is essential that New York City’s existing Penn Station be accessible from the new tunnels. Capon noted that NJ TRANSIT abandoned this accessibility in a June 2007 project redesign.
NARP’s letter to the Governors can be seen here.