NJ/NY No. 7 subway extension gains momentum

The proposed extension of New York’s No. 7 subway line into New Jersey has generated widespread support from numerous political officials in both New York and New Jersey, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie among the latest to signal support for the plan, estimated to cost $5 billion to $6 billion.

Christie cites the No. 7 plan, made public earlier this month by aides to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, as a worthy “alternative” to the recently canceled Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) plan, though the two serve somewhat differing needs and geographic reaches.

Observers note Christie’s announced support shrewdly helps him avoid the “anti-rail” label pasted on other Republican voices elsewhere in the nation, including some governors-elect, who have vowed to reject federal assistance for rail and higher-speed rail projects. Christie can point to the verbal commitment to funding support made by both New York City and, to a lesser degree, New York State, funding support that was absent from the ARC proposal, those observers note.

Several sources tell Railway Age that other parties once focused on  the ARC project arescrambling to line up support for the No. 7 proposal, which would extend the subway line under the Hudson River along a yet-to-be-determined routeterminating at New Jersey Transit’s Secaucus Junction Station, located on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Among others, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the Regional Plan Association are actively reviewing their respective stances on a cross-Hudson rail route.

But the federal funds forfeited by New Jersey with the cancelation of the ARC project are not automatically transferrable to a No. 7 project, the sources caution, making any quick progress highly unlikely. Some also note the Obama Administration’s frustration with New Jersey’s rejection of funds, seen by the Administration as a political play, could further cloud any No. 7 extension regardless of the merits or relative accord among New York metropolitan area players.

The No. 7 line, part of MTA New York City Transit, currently is being extended from its present western terminus at Times Square in Manhattan to a station at 11th Avenue and West 34th Street, a distance of about 1.5 miles. Work on the current extension is slated for completion in 2013.