Gateway Program (Northeast Corridor)

Announcement and initial phases

The Gateway Project was unveiled on February 7, 2011, by Boardman and New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. The announcement also included endorsements from New York Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak's Board of Directors. Officials said Amtrak would take the lead in seeking financing; a list of potential sources included the states of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as well as private investors.

As of late 2011, two parts of the project were underway: the replacement of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River and the development of Moynihan Station in Manhattan. Environmental impact statements are completed and the design and engineering of the new bridges has begun. The ceremonial groundbreaking of the first phase of the conversion of the Farley P.O. to a new Moynihan Station took place in October 2010. Some funding for the projects comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Funding

In 2011, the project was projected to cost $13.5 billion and wrap up in 2020. In April 2011, Amtrak asked that $1.3 billion in USDOT funding for NEC rail corridor improvements be allocated to Gateway and related projects. In November 2011, Congress allocated $15 million for engineering work.

In 2012, revised projections put the cost at $14.5 billion and completion date at 2025. In April 2012, the U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee on transportation proposed to provide another $20 million; that awaits further congressional approval.

While New Jersey officials have said the state will pay its "fair share" of the project, they have committed to no specific dollar amount. In 2013, it was estimated New Jersey's contribution would be between $3 and 5 billion. The source of further funding remains unclear. The state had planned to spend some $600 million on ARC; some of the completed design and engineering work has been used by Amtrak to develop the Gateway Project.

In September 2012, Schumer estimated that the project would need $20 million in 2013 and $100 million in 2014 to keep it from dying.

In December 2012, Amtrak requested $276 million from Congress to upgrade infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy that would also eventually support trains run along the new Gateway Project right-of-way. That earmark funding, which had been revised to $188 million, was deleted from the legislation. However, the United States Department of Transportation provided $185 million from its portion of these Sandy relief and resiliency funds to build the "tunnel box" under the Hudson Yards redevelopment project and rebuild an overlapping Maintenance of Equipment building for the MTA Long Island Railroad.

Gateway Development Corporation

The Gateway Development Corporation will be formed under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The corporation board will be composed of PANYNJ board members from both states, the USDOT, and Amtrak. Staff will be provided by the PANYNJ and Amtrak. The corporation will oversee planning, environmental, design, engineering and construction work. It would also seek federal grants and apply for loans. It remains unclear how the money will be raised.

In December 2015 new federal legislation was introduced allowing Amtrak to operate the NEC as a financially separate entity, thus able to re-invest profits from the line into new infrastructure. The legislation also provided for more low interest loans through changes in the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Capital Investment Grant (New Starts) federal funding programs. In March 2016, Amtrak and PANYNJ committed $35 million each for design and engineering work. Additional funding has not been identified.

The group met for the first time in January 2017.

Right-of-way

The right-of-way was originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in conjunction with the 1910 opening of Pennsylvania Station (New York City) which required the construction of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River and the North River Tunnels under the Hudson Palisades and Hudson River. The following year the Manhattan Transfer was opened in the Kearny Meadows to allow changes between steam and electric locomotives. This also provided for passenger transfers to/from its former main terminal at Exchange Place in Jersey City or the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M), the forerunner of today's Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH). The Dock Bridge over the Passaic River was opened in conjunction with adjacent new Pennsylvania Station (Newark) in 1935. In 1937, the H&M was extended over a second span, making the transfer in the meadows redundant.

In 1949, the PRR discontinued its ferry system on the Hudson and in 1961 closed its Exchange Place station. In 1962, it agreed to the demolition of its Manhattan station in exchange for a smaller one under a new Madison Square Garden. In 1967, the Aldene Plan was implemented, requiring the floundering Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Reading (RDG), and Lehigh Valley (LV) railroads, to travel into Newark Penn with continuing service to New York Penn. The following year the PRR merged with New York Central (NYC), but the new Penn Central (PC) declared bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. In 1976, its long distance service (including part of today's Northeast Corridor and Empire Corridor) was taken over by Amtrak, which had been founded in 1971. Conrail was created in 1976 to bail out numerous Northeast railroads, including the commuter service on the CNJ and the LV. In 1983, when the corporation divested its passenger rail operations, they were taken over by New Jersey Transit (NJT), which had been created in 1979 to operate much of the state's bus system.

In 1991, New Jersey Transit opened the Waterfront Connection, extending service on some non-electrified trains which had previously terminated at Newark Penn Station to Hoboken. In 1996, it began its Midtown Direct service, rerouting some trains from the west which previously terminated at Hoboken Terminal to New York Penn. Secaucus Junction was opened in 2003, allowing passengers travelling from the north to transfer to Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, or Midtown Direct trains, though not to Amtrak, which does not stop there. Between 1976 and 2010, the number of New Jersey Transit weekday trains crossing the Hudson using the North River Tunnels (under contract with Amtrak) increased from 147 to 438.

Trans-Hudson crossings

The other rail system crossing the Hudson was developed by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, partially in conjunction with the PRR, and taken over by PANYNJ in 1962. Direct trans-Hudson rail service to Lower Manhattan from Newark Penn is provided by Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH), a rapid transit system with additional terminals at World Trade Center and Herald Square in Manhattan, and at Hoboken Terminal and Journal Square in Hudson County.

There are three vehicular crossings of the lower Hudson River. The Holland Tunnel, opened in 1927, is minimally used for public transportation. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, is used by suburban buses to GWB Bus Terminal. Its lower level, opened in 1962, is the last new river crossing. The Lincoln Tunnel, composed of three tubes opened in 1937, 1945 and 1954, is one of the busiest tunnels in the world. Its eastern terminus is connected via ramps to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the gateway for most NJT bus traffic entering Manhattan. Despite the Lincoln Tunnel XBL (express bus lane) during the morning peak there are often long delays due to traffic congestion and the limited capacity of the bus terminal for deboarding passengers. The PANYNJ 2007–2016 Capital Plan included a new bus garage in Midtown, so empty buses could avoid unnecessarily returning through the tunnel but the agency scrapped this feature in October 2011. More than 6,000 bus trips are made through the tunnel and bus terminal daily. In December 2011, the New Jersey Assembly passed a resolution calling upon the PANYNJ to address the issue of congestion. In May 2012, the commissioner of NJDOT suggested that some NJT routes could originate/terminate at other Manhattan locations, notably the East Side. The arrangement would require the approval of the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to use bus stops.

Access to the Region's Core

Launched in 1995 by PANYNJ, NJT, and MTA, Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a Major Investment Study that looked at public transportation ideas for the New York metropolitan area. It found that long-term goals would best be met by better connections to and in-between the region's major rail stations in Midtown Manhattan, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The East Side Access project, including tunnels under the East River and the East Side of Manhattan, which would divert some LIRR traffic to Grand Central, is expected to be completed in 2019.

The Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel or THE Tunnel, which later took on the name of the study itself, was meant to address the western, or Hudson River, crossing. Engineering studies determined that structural interferences made a new terminal connected to Grand Central or the current Penn Station unfeasible and its final design involved boring under the current rail yard to a new deep cavern terminal station under 34th Street. While Amtrak had acknowledged that the region represented a bottleneck in the national system and had originally planned to complete work by 2040, its timetable for beginning the project was advanced in part due to the cancellation of ARC, a project similar in scope, but with differences in design. That project, which did not include direct Amtrak participation, was cancelled in October 2010 by New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who cited potential cost overruns. Amtrak briefly engaged the governor in attempt to revive the ARC Tunnel and use preliminary work done for it, but those negotiations soon broke down. Amtrak said it was not interested in purchasing any of the work. Senator Menendez later said some preparatory work done for ARC may be used for the new project. Costs for the project were $117 million for preliminary engineering, $126 million for final design, $15 million for construction and $178 million real estate property rights ($28 million in New Jersey and $150 million in New York City). Additionally, a $161 million partially refundable pre-payment of insurance premiums was also made.

Existing and new infrastructure along right of way

The current route, about 11 miles (18 km) long, includes infrastructure that is more than 100 years old. The system operates at capacity during peak hours — 23 trains per hour — and limits speed for safety reasons. The new route would run parallel to the current right-of-way, enabling dispatching alternatives, potential speed increases, and up to 25 more trains per hour. There are no plans for Amtrak to stop at Secaucus Junction, the only intermediate station and a major interchange point in the NJT system.

Newark Penn, Dock Bridge, Harrison PATH Station

Six tracks connect Newark Penn Station and the adjacent Dock Bridge over the Passaic River at 40°44′05″N 74°9′51″W. The station and the west span of the bridge, carrying three tracks, were built in 1935. The east span, opened in 1937, carries one outbound track, and the two Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) tracks entering and leaving the station. The bridge, owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY/NJ), underwent repairs as recently as 2009. To the northeast lies the Harrison PATH Station. Between the bridge and the station AMTK and NJT trains are aligned on three center tracks to pass through it, with the PATH using side platforms. While not part of the Gateway Project, the station itself is undergoing a $173 million reconstruction and expansion funded by the PANY/NJ which owns and operates the PATH rapid transit system. Passenger use is expected to grow as the area develops; it already includes the Red Bull Arena. Maps for the Gateway Project indicate that an additional, or fourth track for the NEC will be added.

Kearny Meadows – Sawtooth Bridge

At Kearny Junction at 40.7435°N 74.1267°W / 40.7435; -74.1267 (Kearny Junction), east of the former Manhattan Transfer, the rights-of-way of Amtrak, and PATH, and several NJT lines converge and run parallel to each other. While there is no junction with PATH, NJT trains can switch tracks, depending on their terminal of origination or destination, enabling Midtown Direct trains on the Morris and Essex Lines to join or depart the Northeast Corridor. The single track limited-use Waterfront Connection connects some lines using diesel trains on Hoboken Terminal trips with the NEC to the west. Currently the NEC runs on two tracks northeast of the junction. Plans call for expansion to four tracks, requiring the construction of bridges in the Kearny Meadows at Newark Turnpike and Belleville Turnpike. Plans call for the replacement of the Sawtooth Bridge at 40°44′38″N 74°7′30″W carrying the NEC over Hoboken Terminal lines.

Portal Bridge

The 1910 Portal Bridge at 40°45′13″N 74°5′41″W, a two-track, rail-only, 961-foot (293 m) swing bridge over the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus, limits train speeds and crossings and requires frequent and costly maintenance. Its lowest beams are 23 feet (7.0 m) above the water, so it opens regularly for shipping, though not during weekday rush hours, when trains have priority.

In December 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved a $1.34 billion project to replace the Portal Bridge with two new bridges: a three-track bridge to the north, and a two-track bridge to the south. In 2009, New Jersey applied for funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and on January 28, 2010, received $38.5 million for design. In April 2011, Amtrak applied for $570 million for construction from US DOT. New Jersey was expected to contribute $150 million.

Plans call for two two-track bridges, a Portal North Bridge and a Portal South Bridge. In the early design years, cycling advocates, with Lautenberg's support, lobbied to include a bike path that would have become part of the East Coast Greenway, however that was not included in the final design of the Portal North Bridge.

In October 2015, $16 million TIGER grant was awarded and will be used to support early construction activities such as realignment of a 138kV transmission monopole, constructing a temporary fiber optic cable pole line, building a finger pier construction access structure, a service access road and a 560-foot retaining wall.

Construction on the new bridges had been scheduled to begin in 2010 and wrap up in 2017, at which time the Portal Bridge would have been dismantled; however, the project encountered numerous delays. As of 2016, the Portal North Bridge was fully permitted, with construction scheduled to start as early as 2018. The expected schedule was for engineering phase to begin in 2017and revenue service to start in 2024. The Portal South Bridge is to be built some time after that.

Secaucus Junction – Bergen Loop

Opened on December 15, 2003, Secaucus Junction, at 40.76161°N 74.074985°W / 40.76161; -74.074985, is an interchange station served by nine of New Jersey Transit's rail lines, and is sited where Hoboken Terminal trains intersect with those traveling along the Northeast Corridor. Passenger transfers are possible, but there is no rail junction. While the ARC had planned a loop to create a junction, original plans for the Gateway Project did not. Amtrak trains pass through the station, but do not stop there, nor are there plans to include an Amtrak stop. In April 2012, Amtrak announced that the Project might include a "Bergen Loop" connecting NJT's Main Line/Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line and Metro-North Railroad's (MTA) West of Hudson service) to the NEC at Secaucus Junction. MTA constituencies are encouraging the agency to include funding for the loop its capital plan.

If a loop were built, passengers bound for Penn Station New York would not need to use the Secaucus Junction (which was opened in 2003 at a cost of $450 million). Trains using the loop would also increase the capacity demands on the already over-capacity NEC which the Gateway Project is designed to alleviate. Suburban property owners along the Main Line/Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line would stand to gain economically as property values have increased significantly along commuter rail lines once they were upgraded to offer "single-seat commutes."

Hudson Tunnel

The current North River Tunnels allow a maximum of 23 one-way crossings per hour; the Gateway proposal would allow an additional 25 trains per hour. In May 2014 Amtrak C.E.O. Joseph Boardman told the Regional Plan Association that there was something less than 20 years before one or both of the tunnels would have to be shut down.

The ARC Tunnel was to be built in three sections: under the Hudson Palisades, under the Hudson River, and under the streets of Manhattan, where it would have dead-ended. The Hudson Tunnel will likely be built along the footprint of the Palisades and river sections, but will enable trains to join the current interlocking once it emerges. A flying junction is planned for later stages. This will allow Amtrak and NJT to continue to use the East River Tunnels and Sunnyside Yards for staging, storage, and carrying Amtrak NEC trains.

In April 2011, $188 million in federal funding was requested for preliminary engineering studies and environmental analysis.

On May 2, 2016, the FRA published a Notice of Intent to jointly prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) with NJ Transit for the Hudson Tunnel Project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a reasonable range of alternatives, including a no-build alternative. As appropriate, FRA and NJ Transit will coordinate with Amtrak and PANYNJ on the EIS.

Palisades Tunnel

A groundbreaking for ARC was held on June 8, 2009 for new underpass at 40°45′56″N 74°2′14″W, under Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen near the site western portal of the tunnel through Hudson Palisades just south of the North River Tunnels. The land, which cost $26.3 million, is owned by NJT. A tunneling contract for the Palisades Tunnel was awarded on May 5, 2010 to Skanska. Maps indicate this part of the Hudson Tunnel would follow a route to the Weehawken-Hoboken border. In October 2012, in an eminent domain case for a property in Weehawken NJ Transit acquired a parcel in the path of the tunnel for $8.5 million.

Hudson River Tunnel

The Gateway Hudson River tunnel, one point of which would be at 40.75479°N 74.01677°W / 40.75479; -74.01677, will travel from a point at Weehawken Cove under the Hudson River and its eastern portal south of West Side Yard in Manhattan. Engineering studies for ARC along this route had been deemed unfeasible. Surveys of properties which would or would not be affected by underground construction at underground eastern end of the ARC Tunnel had been completed.

Hudson Yards "tunnel box"

The West Side Yard is to be developed as a residential and commercial district on a platform constructed over them as part of the Hudson Yards project. According to Schumer, the only place for an Amtrak portal in Manhattan is in the West Side Yard. That might conflict with the Hudson Yards project, which broke ground in late 2012. In February 2013, Amtrak officials said they would commission a project to preserve a right-of-way for future use to be built with $120 million to $150 million in federal funds. in June 2013 it was announced that $183 million had been dedicated to the "tunnel box" as part of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. Construction began in September 2013 at 40.754661°N 74.003783°W / 40.754661; -74.003783 and is expected to take two years. The underground concrete casing is 800 ft (240 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) wide, and approximately 35 ft (11 m) tall. Amtrak awarded Tutor Perini a $133m contract to build a section of box tunnel.

Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the MTA have applied to the Federal Transit Administration for a $65 million matching grant for another 105 ft (32 m) long structure to preserve the right-of-way at 11th Avenue in Manhattan under a viaduct that was rehabilitated in 2009–2011.

New York Penn Station

The original Pennsylvania Station in New York was completed in 1910. The station's air rights were optioned in the 1950s and called for the razing of the head-house and train shed, while the tracks, well below street level, would remain. Demolition began in October 1963. The current Penn Station, part of the Pennsylvania Plaza complex which includes Madison Square Garden (MSG), was completed in 1968. On July 24, 2013, the New York City Council voted to extend the MSG lease just ten years, in an effort to have the arena move to a different location so that a new station structure can be built in its place.

Penn Station, at 40.750638°N 73.993899°W / 40.750638; -73.993899, is quoted to be as the "busiest, most congested, passenger transportation facility in North America on a daily basis", used by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and served by several New York City Subway lines. Between 1976 and 2010 weekday train movements increased 89%, from 661 to 1,248, reaching what is considered to be capacity. In 2010, the station saw 550,000 daily boardings/alightings.

Farley Post Office

In the early 1990s, then-New York Senator Daniel Moynihan announced plans to convert portions of the James Farley Post Office, at 40°45′4.4″N 73°59′42.64″W, to a train station. Opened in 1912, soon after the original Pennsylvania Station, the landmark building is the city's main post office. It stands across from Penn Plaza and is built over tracks approaching the station from the west.

The project languished for almost two decades, until the final chunk of the $267 million in funding for the first phase of the conversion was secured in early 2010. The phase will expand and improve the 33rd Street Connector between Penn Station and its West End Concourse. Located under the grand staircase of the post office, the concourse will be widened to serve nine of Pennsylvania Station's 11 platforms, and new street entrances will be opened from the southeast and northeast corners of the Farley building. Some $169 million provided by federal and state sources was already in place when a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant arrived in early 2010. A ceremonial groundbreaking and signing for the $83 million in funds took place in October.

No timetable has been set for further phases, which may include public-private partnerships. In April 2011 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state had applied for $49.8 million in federal funding for the final design of Phase 2 of the station's conversion, but was not honored.

The Gateway Project will have little effect on the first phase of the Farley conversion. The second phase of the renovation is planned to make the post office Amtrak's New York Gateway, though in December 2011 it said that it would likely be unable to afford increased operating costs if it should re-locate. The unsuccessful application leaves the project unfunded. The agency redeveloping the building is being folded into the PANYNJ in the belief that it can better handle and oversee reconstruction as well as provide or secure monies. In May 2012, the PANYNJ announced that a $270 million contract for the first phase, including that the concourse expansion under 8th Avenue had been awarded. Completion is expected sometime in 2016.

In January 2016, NY Governor Cuomo announced plans for a combined Penn-Farley Post Office complex called Empire State Station, a comprehensive integrated station, a project estimated to cost $3billion.

Penn Station South

Plans call for Penn Station South to be located on the block south of the current New York Penn Station at 31st Street and diagonally across Eighth Avenue from the post office, on land which is currently privately held. While the PANYNJ had been acquiring land for ARC along its route, acquisition south of the station has not begun. It is likely the entire block would be razed and made available for highrise construction after completion of the station. Plans call for seven tracks served by four platforms in what will be a terminal annex to the entire station complex. In April 2011 Amtrak requested $50 million in federal funding for preliminary engineering and environmental analysis.

In 2014 it was estimated that would cost $404 million to purchase 35 properties in order to build a new terminal at the location. Based on development guidelines from the New York City Planning Commission, it is estimated at that 2015 prices it would cost between $769 million to $1.3 billion just to buy the block bounded to the north and south by 31st and 30th streets, and to the east and west by Seventh and Eighth avenues. Real estate prices are 2½ times higher now than they were in 2012 according to prominent real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Related projects

Other projects in the New York metropolitan area are planned as part of the NEC Next Generation High Speed Rail, including the northern and southern approaches to the Gateway Project.

New Brunswick-Trenton high-speed upgrade

In May 2011, $450 million was dedicated to increase capacity on one of the NEC's busiest segments, a 24-mile (39 km) section between New Brunswick and Trenton. The planned six-year project will upgrade signals and electrical power systems, including catenary wires, to improve reliability, increase train speeds, and allow more frequent high-speed trains. In July 2011, a bill passed by the House of Representatives threatened funding for the project and others announced at the same time, but the money was released the following month. The project, along with the purchase of new train sets, is expected to raise speeds on the segment to 180 mph (290 km/h). In September 2012, Acela test trains hit 165 mph (266 km/h) over the segment. (The 2012 tests did not break the longtime record on this stretch of track: 170 mph (270 km/h), set on December 20, 1967, by the U.S.-built UAC TurboTrain. This also stands as the record top speed for a North American train.) The track work is one of several projects planned for the "New Jersey Speedway" section of the NEC, which include a new station at North Brunswick, the Mid-Line Loop (a flyover for reversing train direction), and the re-construction of County Yard, to be done in coordination with NJT.

Harold Interlocking and Hutchinson River

Over 750 LIRR, NJT, and Amtrak trains travel through the Harold Interlocking every day, causing frequent conflicts and delays. In May 2011, a $294.7 million federal grant was awarded to address congestion at the USA's busiest rail junction and part of the Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The work will allow for a dedicated track to the New York Connecting Railroad right of way for Amtrak trains arriving from or bound for New England, thus avoiding NJT and LIRR traffic. A new flying junction will allow Amtrak trains to travel through the interlocking separately from LIRR and NJ Transit trains on their way to Sunnyside. Financing for the project was placed in jeopardy by House of Representatives in July 2011 which voted to divert the funding to unrelated projects., but was later obligated so that work on the project can begin in 2012.

Amtrak has applied for $15 million for the environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering design to examine replacement options for the more than 100-year-old, low-level movable Pelham Bay Bridge over the Hutchinson River in The Bronx. The goal is for a new bridge to support expanded service and speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h).

Subway service

While not part of the Gateway Project, Amtrak's announcement included a proposal to extend the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 7 Subway Extension three blocks east to New York Penn Station from the current station at 11th Avenue and 34th Street. This would provide service to the Javits Convention Center and a one-seat ride to Grand Central Terminal, the city's other major train terminal on the East Side of Manhattan at 42nd Street. Shortly before the introduction of Gateway, the New York City Economic Development Corporation voted to budget up to $250,000 for a feasibility study of a Hudson River tunnel for an extension to Secaucus Junction awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major engineering firm that had been working on the ARC tunnel. In October 2011, Bloomberg reiterated his support for the NJ extension, estimated to cost around $10 billion and take ten years to complete, indicating that he would give approval by the end of his third term in 2013. Environmental-impact studies and a full business plan are required before the proposal proceeds. It was likely that the two projects – Gateway and the subway line – would have been in competition for funding. In April 2012, citing budget considerations, the director of the MTA effectively scuttled the project and said that it was doubtful the extension would be built in the foreseeable future, suggesting that the Gateway Project was a much more likely solution to congestion at Hudson River crossings. The report was released in April 2013. In a November 2013 Daily News opinion article, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York and the chairman of Edison Properties called for the line to be extended to Secaucus in tunnels to be shared with the Gateway Project. In November 2013 the New Jersey Assembly passed a Resolution 168 supporting the extension of the line to Hoboken and Secaucus.