Federal loan could help LIRR
Side by side tunnels deep below the surface are part of the construction plan for the East Side Access tunnel for the Long Island Rail Road. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
The East Side Access project, which will provide Long Island Rail Road commuters with direct access to Grand Central Terminal, will run out of money in six months, and no easy answers on how to keep it funded have been found.
So Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is trying to get Washington to offer the Metropolitan Transportaton Authority a loan. That could help, but it's not the whole solution.
This week Schumer called on the Federal Railroad Administration to direct $2.2 billion to the project via the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing Program. That's the same amount New Jersey turned down after canceling its trans-Hudson tunnel project. The MTA, which has done a good job of finding such opportunities, actually applied for RRIFP help months ago.
The program provides loans and loan guarantees, with generous rates and 35-year repayment windows. New Jersey was offered such a loan in a losing effort to persuade Gov. Chris Christie to reverse his decision to cancel his state's tunnel.
A loan seems to be all that's left because East Side Access appears to have gotten all the free money it's going to from the federal government, including a surprising $300 million in high-speed rail money.
Still, the low rates and easier payment schedule would help, and Schumer should use his clout to get them.
But loans will still have to be repaid, and that's money that must be found in New York, not Washington.
