The Hudson Tunnel Project has Three Major Components
- New, Two-Track Hudson River Tunnel: A new, two-track Hudson River rail tunnel between the Bergen Palisades in New Jersey and Manhattan is under construction.
- Hudson Yards Concrete Casing, Section 3: A third and final rail right-of-way preservation section is being built underneath Hudson Yards in New York. This will eventually allow trains to travel between the new Hudson River Tunnel and the existing New York Penn Station.
- North River Tunnel Rehabilitation: The existing tunnel beneath the Hudson River, which has suboptimal service reliability and an antiquated design, and was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy, will be rehabilitated.
These three components will improve reliability, resiliency, and redundancy for hundreds of thousands of daily passengers who travel across the Hudson River, and allow for much-needed repairs on an essential stretch of the Northeast Corridor. Upon completion of the Hudson Tunnel Project, four tracks (two in the new Hudson River Tunnel and two in the North River Tunnel) will be available between New Jersey and New York under the Hudson River, which allow for operational flexibility and redundancy for Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT rail operations to maintain current capacity levels.
Urgency
The Hudson Tunnel Project will provide long-term resiliency, reliability, and redundancy to the regional and national rail network for the NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak customers that rely on these rail services, and in doing so, substantial social, economic, and environmental benefits:
- Eliminate a single point-of-failure for the region whose economy drives a sizable portion of America’s gross domestic product (GDP)––the New York regional economy and the Northeast corridor mega-region contribute 10% and 20%, respectively, of the nation’s GDP.
- Create over 95,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs over the Project’s construction period.
- Stimulate the economy by generating $19.6 billion in economic activity over the Project’s construction period.
- Utilize U.S. suppliers and manufacturers through the Buy America requirement that applies to federally funded purchases, as well as the federal provisions regarding participation by disadvantaged businesses.
- Reduce congestion on already overcrowded roads by making train use more attractive and reliable. Without the Hudson Tunnel Project, North River Tunnel repairs would cause longer commutes for almost a quarter million drivers.
- Provide long-term reliability. The latest data from the Northeast Corridor Commission showed that trains passing through the North River Tunnel were delayed nearly two out of every three days. The number one cause of delays was faulty infrastructure. As ridership surpasses pre-pandemic levels, the region – and nation – need the Hudson Tunnel Project.
History
The Pennsylvania Railroad began design and construction of the existing North River Tunnel in February 1903 and it was opened to revenue service in November 1910. The two-track North River Tunnel was State of the Art for the early 20th century. The result is a one-track-in, one-track-out system between New York and New Jersey. As such, there is very limited flexibility when incidents occur in the tunnel.
Service reliability through the North River Tunnel was already suboptimal because of the tunnel’s age and design, but it was further compromised by flood damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012.