Tag: rail

I want to start this post with a couple of caveats:

1. I generally support the expansion of mass transit, with some exceptions.
2. I rarely agree with Paul Mulshine, the conservative columnist for The Star-Ledger, though I do think he is one of the more thoughtful conservatives out there.
3. In its most theoretical sense, the massive rail tunnel project under the Hudson River makes some sense.

Now, let’s get down to the brass tax of this post.

The  Access to the Region’s Core project, or ARC, is neither theoretical nor logical given the fiscal realities facing not only New Jersey but New York, as well. While a rail tunnel into the city that could expand rail access would seem to make sense, this project fall short of its original goals and appears headed for boondoggle status.

As Mulshine writes in today’s Ledger, the ARC project falls far short of its original goals and may just be counterproductive in the long run. The

$8.7 billion plan would give Manhattan exactly what it doesn’t need: yet another railroad station that isn’t linked to the rest of the rail network.

The current plan calls for construction of a new station, next to Penn but deep underground, that would serve only the new lines. It would be so far below the surface, says Clift, that riders would wonder whether they were traveling on a rail line or an escalator line.

That’s a lot of bucks for a lot less bang than we need.

Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club argues that “the riders of the lost ARC,” as he calls them, will never achieve the connectivity to Grand Central that was originally promised. The newer, deeper tunnel will dead-end at a water tunnel that New York City won’t be replacing anytime soon, said Tittel.

And remember, the tunnel is being built with money that we just don’t hvae, as conservative state Sen. Michael Doherty pointed out to Mulshine.

“Frankly, nobody knows where money’s coming from,” Doherty said. “The Transportation Trust Fund is depleted and now we’re going to divert money that should be going for road maintenance for this tunnel?”

This in a state with crumbling roads and failing bridges and — and this is key — inadequate rail service on existing lines. It would seem to me that we do more to fix our infrastructure — while creating needed jobs — by putting our money into fixing what we already have (This might make for good housing policy, as well) rather than just building newer and fancier toys.

That remains to be seen. The trust fund doesn’t run out of money until next year.

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