Doubling passenger rail capacity under the Hudson is essential, as we’ve said for years and there’s a faster, cheaper and better to get there than Amtrak’s $30 billion Gateway boondoggle. But we must now confess that our criticism was wrong.
At Friday’s inaugural meeting of the New York-New Jersey Gateway Development Commission (now a bi-state governmental agency instead of a New Jersey non-profit corporation), the commissioners talked hopefully of a pending environmental decision from Washington on advancing the proposed new $9.8 billion Hudson rail tunnel, part of the larger $30 billion Gateway boondoggle.
Stipulated: Amtrak’s Hudson tunnel waterlogged by Superstorm Sandy must be fixed and a new tube absolutely must be dug to double capacity. Getting both tasks done quickly, economically and with the least environmental impact must be the focus of the joint New York/New Jersey Gateway Development Commission, a new bi-state government agency which has its first meeting today.