Decision to Cancel Train Tunnels Dogs Gov. Chris Christie

“The governor is happy to meet with Governor Cuomo and Secretary Foxx”, Brian Murray, a spokesman for Christie, said Tuesday in an e-mail.

During a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., NJ.com reports Christie said he formally accepted U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx’s invitation to a meeting with Cuomo and the New York-New Jersey Port Authority. He said he had spoken to Cuomo on Monday night and that the two were trying to coordinate their schedules.

Cuomo said that if federal officials increase their commitment then New York will make the project a priority.

“It is increasingly clear that the problems of this crumbling asset will not go away, and we remain committed to advancing needed repairs and replacements”, Foxx said.

The bi-state agency’s director John Degnan said the feds will have to show New York and New Jersey it will put more money into a new tunnel project before the project gets moving.

Amtrak owns most of the tracks and equipment, most of which is several decades old. The controversy has led Christie to come under fire for his 2010 decision to nix the ARC tunnel, which could have been finished as early as 2017, over concerns that New Jersey would have be taking on too much of the costs. Under that plan, new rail tunnels might… The department recently allocated $185 million for the project and is “willing once again to explore federal financial assistance”, he said.

Boardman said last year that Amtrak would have to close one of the two existing tunnels within the next 20 years to fix damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.