N.J. senators, Amtrak official to announce new commuter train tunnel project across the Hudson

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TRENTON — Amtrak’s top executive and New Jersey’s two U.S. senators today are expected to announce an alternative to the Hudson River commuter-train tunnel that was killed by Gov. Chris Christie in October.

The "Gateway" tunnel proposed by Amtrak would largely follow the same footprint as the canceled nine-mile Access to the Region’s Core tunnel from Secaucus to New York City, but connect to new tracks in an expanded New York Penn Station instead of dead-ending deep under West 34th Street, representatives for U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez said tonight.

Detractors referred to ARC as the "tunnel to Macy’s basement" for its proximity to the landmark department store and supposed lack of connectivity to other transit hubs in Manhattan.

The Gateway tunnel would allow 13 additional NJ Transit trains per hour — from 20 to 33 — and eight more Amtrak trains. The ARC project would have allowed 25 extra NJ Transit trains per hour.

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/nj_senators_to_announce_new_co.html