The Gateway Program is the most urgent infrastructure program in America.
The Gateway Program will deliver critical rail infrastructure projects between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station in New York City (“PSNY”), along the Northeast Corridor (“NEC”). The NEC is the most heavily used passenger rail line in the U.S., with more than 2,000 trains per day carrying approximately 800,000 daily passenger trips across eight states and Washington D.C.
The portion of the Northeast Corridor between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station in New York City carries over 200,000 daily Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT passenger trips on approximately 450 trains. It also only has two tracks, while a majority of the remainder of the Northeast Corridor has four.
The Gateway Program will replace and update rail infrastructure assets that, in many cases, are over 100 years old, and, when the entire Program is completed, expand capacity along this 10-mile stretch of the NEC.
The Gateway Program’s first phase includes
- The construction of a new two-track tunnel under the Hudson River
- The rehabilitation of the existing two-track North River Tunnel
- The completion of a concrete casing on the West Side of Manhattan to preserve right-of-way for the future tunnel to PSNY
- The replacement of the Portal Bridge in New Jersey
Later phases of the Gateway Program will include
- The replacement and expansion of the Sawtooth Bridges on the NEC located between Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction
- The expansion of PSNY in Manhattan
- The expansion and modification of Secaucus Junction Station and addition of loop tracks (“Bergen/Secaucus Loop”) in New Jersey
- The construction of Portal South Bridge
- The construction of a rail yard and operational support facilities in New Jersey for NJ TRANSIT equipment, and other elements to complete a modernized, four-track railroad from Newark Penn Station to PSNY
