US | Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:51pm EDT

Senator offers plan to pay for New Jersey-New York rail tunnel

NEW YORK | BY KATIE REILLY

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York on Tuesday put forward a plan to pay for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River linking New Jersey and New York City, following lengthy delays that have left commuters stranded and frustrated in recent weeks.

Schumer proposed creation of a non-profit development corporation that would help raise money to pay for the multibillion-dollar project and also pushed to expedite repairs to the existing tunnel, which dates to the early 1900s.

"We are fast approaching a regional transportation Armageddon: the busiest rail line in the country stranded without a way into New York," Schumer said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"But the problem goes beyond New York and New Jersey. It is a federal problem. If the tunnels aren’t built, it will affect our economy from Maine to Virginia," he said.

Electrical problems in the existing tunnel caused delays that doubled, tripled or even quadrupled the work commute of tens of thousands of people in recent weeks.

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