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Past few weeks has seen much hot air and some action from the Obama administration (casting about for a legacy infrastructure project is a favourite of lame duck POTUS) over the Hudson River Tunnel project.
Governor Christie from the campaign trail somewhat reversed previous position and is "open" to the idea of new tunnels, long as NJ isn't stuck with the entire bill. Across the river Cuomo isn't having any of it and says NJ, Amtrak, and or the federal government needs to pony up solid big money and not just loans as the tunnels "aren't his (NYS's) main worry and benefit mostly Amtrak and NJT.
Eagar to get some sort of action going federal transportation secretary Mr. Foxx called a sit down (from which Cuomo was absent) to see if there could be a meeting of the minds.
Long story short the Gateway Project would cost an estimated 20 billion USD. If the last major infrastructure project carried out by a state is any guide (the Big Dig in Boston) that surely is a low ball number.
Everyone agrees the Hudson River Tunnels are way past their sell by date. Super Storm Sandy hastened the rotting process to the point Amtrak soon *must* not if begin major repairs on both tubes. Question is who is going to pony up for the job?
We are a donor state by a long shot, NY collects our tax money, and this is an interstate project. Feds should pick up most if not all, and NY should pick up the rest.
We are a donor state by a long shot, NY collects our tax money, and this is an interstate project. Feds should pick up most if not all, and NY should pick up the rest.
Yeabut the feds already have pumped major funding into three of the most recent NYS/NYC rail projects:
The Farley USPS office conversion to the "New" Penn Station
Eastside Access for LIRR
Second Avenue Subway
The NYS MTA is sniffing around for funding to deal with their next capital improvement scheme including the next phase of the SAS. Three guesses who they are hoping will play Santa Claus (again).
Why does this project have to fall on the taxpayers? Why aren't Amtrak and NJ Transit footing some of the bill. They are constantly raising ticket prices.
Why does this project have to fall on the taxpayers? Why aren't Amtrak and NJ Transit footing some of the bill. They are constantly raising ticket prices.
Most if not all the major railroad ROW/infrastructure in the USA was built by the then privately owned railroads. As they vanished or shrunk things were either pulled up, abandoned, sold, repurposed and or currently used if not by the original RR itself whomever succeeded it in operations.
Amtrak is not the great Pennsylvania RR. It inherited much of that now bankrupt RR's ROW/infrastructure (along with New York Central) up along the Northeast from Washington D.C. to Maine. What Amtrak does not have is a dedicated constant stream of funding to do big infrastructure projects.
Also if NYS and NJ agree to fund the projects they each have agencies who could apply for federal grants/funding that Amtrak cannot. The Port Authority of NY and NJ can raise funds by issuing debt without going before taxpayers as well.
Problem is the only American companies that could possibly finance such an infrastructure project aren't railroads, but things like Apple, Google, and so forth.
X None of the above, The users, A "Toll" should be charged to the trains that run thru it, and revenue anticipation bonds, should be issued to pay for it.
NJ pays for bridges to nowhere in Alaska, dams in Tennessee, and Everglades projects in Florida. Why shouldn't the rest of the country send some spondulix our way?
Long story short the Gateway Project would cost an estimated 20 billion USD. If the last major infrastructure project carried out by a state is any guide (the Big Dig in Boston) that surely is a low ball number.
That's basically what Christie said about ARC.
Quote:
Everyone agrees the Hudson River Tunnels are way past their sell by date. Super Storm Sandy hastened the rotting process to the point Amtrak soon *must* not if begin major repairs on both tubes. Question is who is going to pony up for the job?
Christie should propose transferring ownership of the NEC from Trenton to NYC over to New Jersey Transit, then NJ ponies up. Oh yeah, and from that point on Amtrak pays for transit and NJT gets priority.
Why does this project have to fall on the taxpayers? Why aren't Amtrak and NJ Transit footing some of the bill. They are constantly raising ticket prices.
ALL passenger rail systems are subsidized. None are fully funded through ticket sales. NJ Transit is the least subsidized mass transit agency in the region, if not the country. And the subsidy continues to fall, which means fare increases are mostly to offset declining revenue sources in the budget. Also the alternative is risky - too high a fare and people will switch to bus or driving and eventually move to a different state. Again, if you make NJ Transit tickets carry the full cost, it will make LIRR and MTA comparably inexpensive and push people out of state. Westchester, Staten Island, Long Island, and NYC COMBINED do not have the housing stock or transit capacity to deal with a major influx of NJ residents fleeing. Transit is a delicate balance in a region and tax collection and disbursement in this region is a joke.
If the project was built tomorrow and the bill was due, even if the feds picked up every penny, we'd still be a donor state that year. Our annual contribution to the feds has ranged from $10 to $30 billion annually since 1985.
If the feds gave NJ a ONE YEAR tax holiday, in other words every dollar sent to the federal govt from NJ residents is credited back to the NJ state government, we could build the tunnel, pay down some debt, and make a sizable catch up payment to the pension. Our debt service would decline and the budget would be under significantly less pressure to make other investments in the state, such as road upgrades and tax incentives to build business enclaves in OUR cities.
1 year of tax relief from the feds and we can make 100 year improvements to infrastructure plus take steps to strengthening the budget.
2 years of tax relief from the feds and we fund 50% of the state's debt obligations freeing up a billion annually in the state budget.
Why does this project have to fall on the taxpayers? Why aren't Amtrak and NJ Transit footing some of the bill. They are constantly raising ticket prices.
Because just like roads and bridges, tunnels are part of the US interstate transportation system.
Fed pays for the tunnel and Amtrak tracks
NJ pays for connection to Amtrak tracks
NY pays for connection to Amtrak tracks
All railroads using the tunnel to pay user fees.
I'd rather my taxes go to a tunnel than another aircraft carrier.
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