Amtrak, NJ Transit talk tunnel project revival

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole confirmed Monday that Amtrak and New Jersey Transit are in “preliminary discussions” to revive and revise a project to construct a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed the project Oct. 27 because he said the state could not afford its own commitment—made by a former governor—to the ARC (Access to the Region’s Core) project.

While the Federal Transit Administration and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey had each committed $3 billion to the initially-estimated cost of $8.7 billion, Christie said new estimates put the cost more than $2 billion higher, leaving a funding gap that the state could not close. Earlier, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the city could not afford to pitch in.