Amtrak’s $24 Billion Renovation Program In NYC Inches Closer To Federal Financing

The path has been cleared for the $24 billion Amtrak renovation plans for the New York City rail lines (the “Gateway Program“) to receive federal funding.

The Gateway Program Development Corporation board reportedly voted to put the first phase of the project “onto the federal emerging projects roster.” This will allow the project to apply for around $6 billion in federal low-interest loans.

The program will apparently be funded jointly between the federal government, New York, and New Jersey.

Reuters provides more:

Gateway, particularly a new train tunnel underneath the Hudson River and subsequent repair of the existing tunnel, is considered one of the most important infrastructure projects in the nation.

Failure of the lines in the current century-old tunnel, which was heavily damaged during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, could come within a decade and would hobble commuting in a metropolitan area that produces 10% of the nation’s economic output.

Construction on the tunnel could tie up traffic on Manhattan’s heavily traveled West Side Highway for 3 years and cause other disruptions.

A board of trustees to oversee the Gateway program was named late last year.

Trustee Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of Transportation, was represented at the meeting by his counselor, Andrew Right, a former Goldman Sachs infrastructure banker.

Notably, the chairman of the board is trustee Richard Bagger, who is also on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s boards.

Image via Amtrak