Amtrak, senators unveil new tunnel plan

NEWARK - Amtrak and New Jersey's two U.S. senators think they have a way to add a rail link to New York City that will spread the cost around and prove more popular, among commuters and politicians alike, than the project Gov. Chris Christie killed last year.

Democratic Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez and railroad officials Monday proposed two tunnels under the Hudson River as a $13.5-billion alternative to the "Access to the Region's Core" plan, which Christie refused to approve because his state would have been on the hook for cost overruns.The main rail link between New York and New Jersey carries 62 trains a day; the new proposal would raise the number of daily trains to 92.

The "Gateway Project" proposed Monday calls for the new Hudson River tunnel to open in 2020, two years later than the scrapped ARC tunnel. It would follow the same basic nine-mile path from Secaucus to New York that had been proposed for the other tunnel.

There are significant differences, though.

The ARC tunnel would have ended short of New York's Penn Station, which serves Amtrak in addition to Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit commuter trains. The proposed one would connect directly to new tracks at Penn Station, rather than end far beneath the Macy's store at West 34th Street, and save commuters a few blocks of walking.

Unlike the ARC project, Amtrak would also have use of the tunnels, so it would not increase capacity as much for NJ Transit riders. But it may be a cheaper project for the state in the long run because of partnerships.

Christie did not rule out making a future contribution to the project but said there is no money for a tunnel now.