New Hudson rail tunnel far from panacea for commuters’ woes

“It was our administration’s understanding that this was a separate meeting” than the one called by Foxx to discuss the tunnel project, Lever said.

Christie cast the decision at the time as an example of the type of fiscal responsibility that he promised voters in the Garden State when they elected him governor.

For train commuters into New York City who view a new tunnel under the Hudson River as the answer to all their hopes and dreams, a sobering reality is ahead.

Since Superstorm Sandy flooded the tunnel with saltwater and caused extensive damage, the need for additional rail capacity has only become more acute.

That would bring the daily commute to a crawl.

Those commuters on NJ Transit’s Pascack Valley, Bergen County and Main lines and the Metro-North Port Jervis line now switch trains in Secaucus to get to Penn Station in midtown Manhattan. A spokeswoman added that “the completion of ARC would have done nothing to resolve the issues we’re still facing with Amtrak’s tunnels today”.

“All the news out of China recently has done nothing to restore confidence in its financial markets”, said David Madden, market analyst at IG, “and the ripple effect can be felt in Europe”.

Amtrak is looking for the federal government to foot 80 percent of the cost of its stalled Gateway tunnel project under the Hudson River.

“Considering the unprecedented fiscal and economic climate our state is facing, it is completely unthinkable to borrow more money and leave taxpayers responsible for billions in cost overruns”, he said in an October 2010 statement.

Prosecutors say a central New Jersey couple was involved in worldwide trafficking ring that smuggled counterfeit high-end wrist watches between Hong Kong and New Jersey.

“It is an Amtrak tunnel that is used by Amtrak and by New Jersey Transit”, Cuomo said. “I write to urge immediate action and to lend my personal engagement to get the Gateway tunnel project on the path to completion as soon as possible”. The Port Authority, the bistate company that manages tunnels, bridges, airports and transit in New York Metropolis and northern New Jersey, additionally despatched a letter to Foxx urging a much bigger monetary dedication.

Cuomo said last week that he would not attend, saying a meeting to discuss the tunnel project was premature until the federal government committed to a sizeable investment.

The ARC tunnel was expected to be completed in 2018.

“Such extensive demolition and reconstruction of the tunnel can only occur during a complete shutdown”, Gardner said.