The Gateway Program is an ongoing expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail line between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City along the right-of-way between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. The project is intended to build new rail bridges in the New Jersey Meadowlands, dig a new set of tunnels under Bergen Hill (Hudson Palisades) and the Hudson River, and rehabilitate the existing 1910 tunnel, all with the goal of doubling train capacity to four tracks along the right-of-way, since the current two-track rail line, used both by Amtrak and NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT), has reached its full capacity of 24 trains per hour.
It was unveiled as the Gateway Project in 2011, one year after the cancellation of the somewhat similar Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project. The need for renovations increased after Hurricane Sandy damaged the North River Tunnels the following year. It took nearly a decade to line up funding and regulatory approval for the biggest component, the new Hudson River tunnel, which began construction in 2023 and is scheduled to open in 2035, with rehabilitation of the old tunnels to follow by 2038. Other components that will complete the full four-track buildout between Newark Penn Station and New York, like the replacement Sawtooth Bridges, are in the planning stage, while some like the Portal South bridge still await commitments and funding.
Background
Right-of-way
The right-of-way was originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in conjunction with the 1910 opening of New York's Pennsylvania Station, which required the construction of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, as well as the North River Tunnels under the Hudson Palisades and Hudson River. The following year the Manhattan Transfer station was opened in the Kearny Meadows to allow changes between steam and electric locomotives. This station also provided for passenger transfers to/from its former main terminal at Exchange Place in Jersey City or the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M), the forerunner of today's Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH). The Dock Bridge over the Passaic River was opened in conjunction with the adjacent Newark Penn Station in 1935. In 1937, the H&M was extended over a second span, making the transfer in the meadows redundant.
In 1949, the PRR discontinued its ferry system on the Hudson, and in 1961, it closed its Exchange Place station. In 1963, due to declining traffic and revenue, the PRR demolished the above-ground New York Penn Station. It retained its below-ground passenger concourses and waiting areas, and sold its air rights, enabling construction of a new Madison Square Garden. In 1967, the Aldene Plan was implemented, requiring the floundering Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Reading (RDG), and Lehigh Valley (LV) railroads, to travel into Newark Penn while continuing service to New York Penn. Under continued financial pressure, the PRR merged with New York Central (NYC) in 1968, but the newly-formed Penn Central (PC) declared bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. In 1976, the PC long-distance service (including part of today's Northeast Corridor and Empire Corridor) was assumed by Amtrak, which had been founded in 1971. Conrail was created in 1976 to consolidate numerous Northeast private railroads, including commuter service on the CNJ and the LV. Conrail divested itself from passenger operations in 1983, and NJT assumed control.
In 1991, NJT opened the Waterfront Connection, extending service on several non-electrified trains which had previously terminated at Newark Penn Station to Hoboken. In 1996, NJT inaugurated Midtown Direct service, rerouting some trains from the west which previously terminated at Hoboken Terminal to New York Penn. Secaucus Junction was opened in 2003, allowing passengers travelling from the north to transfer to Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, or Midtown Direct trains, though not to Amtrak, which made no stops there. Between 1976 and 2010, the number of NJT weekday trains crossing the Hudson using the North River Tunnels (under contract with Amtrak) increased from 147 to 438.
Trans-Hudson crossings The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily traveled railway in the United States, and is the only rail line that travels under the Hudson River and through New York City.Request for Information for Hudson Tunnel Project . Amtrak Northeast Corridor. August 10, 2017. Accessed February 10, 2019. The other rail system crossing the Hudson was developed by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, partially in conjunction with the PRR, and taken over by PANYNJ in 1962, who rebranded the H&M as the PATH, a rapid transit system. Direct trans-Hudson rail service to Lower Manhattan from Newark Penn is provided by PATH with additional terminals at World Trade Center and Herald Square in Manhattan, and at Hoboken Terminal and Journal Square in Hudson County, New Jersey. In 1971 New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill proposed constructing another rail tunnel from Weehawken, New Jersey, to 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
There are three vehicular crossings of the lower Hudson River. The Holland Tunnel, opened in 1927, is minimally used for public transportation and connects Jersey City, New Jersey, to lower Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, is used by suburban buses to GWB Bus Terminal, and connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, to upper Manhattan. Its lower level, opened in 1962, is the last new river crossing. The Lincoln Tunnel, composed of three tubes opened in 1937, 1945, and 1954, connects Weehawken, New Jersey, to Midtown Manhattan. More than 6,000 bus trips are made through the tunnel and bus terminal daily. Its eastern terminus is connected via ramps to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the gateway for most NJT bus traffic entering Manhattan. Despite the Lincoln Tunnel XBL (express bus lane) during the morning peak there are often long delays due to traffic congestion and the limited capacity of the bus terminal.
Access to the Region's Core
Launched in 1995 by PANYNJ, NJT, and MTA, Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a Major Investment Study that looked at public transportation ideas for the New York metropolitan area. It found that long-term goals would best be met by better connections to and in-between the region's major rail stations in Midtown Manhattan, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The East Side Access project, including tunnels under the East River and the East Side of Manhattan, was completed in early 2023; some LIRR traffic has been diverted to Grand Central, freeing up track slots at Penn Station.
The Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel or THE Tunnel, which later took on the name of the study itself, was meant to address the western, or Hudson River, crossing. Engineering studies determined that structural interferences made a new terminal connected to Grand Central or the current Penn Station unfeasible and its final design involved boring under the current rail yard to a new deep cavern terminal station under 34th Street.New Jersey Transit (October 2008). Newark, NJ. "Access to the Region's Core: Final Environmental Impact Study." Executive Summary. While Amtrak had acknowledged that the region represented a bottleneck in the national system and had originally planned to complete work by 2040, its timetable for beginning the project was advanced in part due to the cancellation of ARC, a project similar in scope, but with differences in design. That project, which did not include direct Amtrak participation, was cancelled in October 2010 by New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who cited potential cost overruns. Amtrak briefly engaged the governor in attempt to revive the ARC Tunnel and use preliminary work done for it, but those negotiations soon broke down. Amtrak said it was not interested in purchasing any of the work. Senator Menendez later said some preparatory work done for ARC may be used for the new project. Costs for the project were $117 million for preliminary engineering, $126 million for final design, $15 million for construction and $178 million real estate property rights ($28 million in New Jersey and $150 million in New York City). Additionally, a $161 million partially refundable pre-payment of insurance premiums was also made.
Plans, construction and project status
Announcement and initial phases
In the aftermath of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's cancelation of the ARC tunnel, the Gateway Project was unveiled on February 7, 2011, by Amtrak President Joseph H. Boardman and New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. Some previously planned improvements were included in the project to increase capacity across the New Jersey bottleneck of the Northeast Corridor, as ARC was meant to, but the new plan would include two new Hudson tunnels that would connect directly to Penn Station, their introduction would allow for the refurbishment of the existing North River Tunnels, and Amtrak would now take the lead in seeking financing.
By late 2011, two associated projects were considered part of the Gateway modernization and were underway: the replacement of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, and the development of Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan. Environmental impact statements had been completed, and the design and engineering of the new bridges had begun. The ceremonial groundbreaking of the first phase of conversion of the James Farley Post Office into the Moynihan Train Hall took place in October 2010, partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Projected costs In 2011, the project was projected to take $13.5 billion and nine years, and Amtrak asked that $1.3 billion in United States Department of Transportation funding for NEC rail corridor improvements be allocated to Gateway. In November, Congress allocated $15 million for initial engineering work. In April 2012, a U.S. Senate subcommittee proposed another $20 million. In September 2012, Schumer estimated that the project would need $20 million in 2013 and $100 million in 2014 to keep it from dying.
After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Amtrak requested $276 million from Congress to upgrade damaged infrastructure that would also eventually support trains running along the new Gateway Project right-of-way. Congress did not provide funding in its Sandy relief legislation, but the U.S. Department of Transportation provided $185 million from its own Sandy relief and resiliency funds to build the "tunnel box" under the Hudson Yards redevelopment project and rebuild an overlapping Maintenance of Equipment building for the Long Island Rail Road.
Development corporation In November 2015, the creation of the Gateway Development Corporation was announced by Amtrak, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Chuck Schumer, and Governors Christie and Andrew Cuomo. The corporation would oversee planning, environmental, design, engineering, and construction work, and seek federal grants and loans. Its board was composed of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey board members, the USDOT, and Amtrak, while its staff consisted of PANYNJ and Amtrak employees.
In December 2015, federal legislation was introduced to allow Amtrak to operate the NEC as a financially separate entity that could invest profits from the line into its infrastructure. The legislation also provided for more low-interest loans through changes in the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Capital Investment Grant (New Starts) federal funding programs. In March 2016, Amtrak and PANYNJ committed $35 million each for design and engineering work.
The group met for the first time on January 12, 2017. On June 30, 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation sent a letter to the Gateway Development Corporation permanently withdrawing from its board of trustees. Shortly afterward, the draft Environmental Impact Study for the project was issued.