NY's Cuomo Reluctant to Dig Deep for New Hudson Rail Tunnel

ALBANY, N.Y. — Aug 15, 2015, 10:58 AM ET
By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

He committed billions of dollars to overhaul LaGuardia Airport and build a new Tappan Zee Bridge — but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has taken a wary approach to building a new Hudson River rail tunnel, even though the stakes could be even higher for the state and the nation.

The existing Amtrak tunnel connecting New York City and New Jersey is a century old and in disrepair. Electrical wires corroded by Superstorm Sandy's floods prompted hours-long delays last month that highlighted the tunnel's condition and previewed what could become a chronic problem if nothing is done.

Yet Cuomo sees little light ahead in this tunnel project.

The Democrat balked at an invitation from U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to meet with him and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to discuss the construction of a new tunnel, saying there was "no reason to meet now." He told reporters recently that the outlook for the tunnel is "not especially bright."

If that's true, then it's bad news for millions of commuters, not just the 200,000 people who ride trains through the tunnel each day. Amtrak estimates that the existing tunnel — which has a single track in two tubes, one for either direction — has a life expectancy of about 20 years. Closing one tube for a year of repairs would reduce the number of trains using the tunnel from 24 to 6 per hour at peak times, forcing tens of thousands of people onto ferries, buses or cars and further clogging the region's already congested streets.

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