Under Construction
ARC Tunnel | Moynihan Station

Access to the Region's Core (ARC) Tunnel:
The Port Authority, along with project partners NJ TRANSIT and the Federal Transit Administration, are building the nation's largest transit project. The $8.7 billion ARC Project will construct two new commuter rail tracks under the Hudson River, expand Penn Station New York under 34th St. and double capacity between NJ and midtown Manhattan.
Started in 2010 it is scheduled for completion in 2018.
Objectives:

  • Double rush-hour service, creating shorter commutes and more one-seat rides
  • Reduce train transfers and car pollution.
    e.g.Access from the Raritan Valley line now requires a transfer in Newark's Penn Station. The new tunnel will allow direct access to NY.
  • Create thousands of construction jobs

Chairman Wisnewski of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) says "The ARC Project should be extended to the Grand Central Terminal area in Midtown Manhattan's East Side.
The ARC Project needs to be "Right Sized" in order to make it affordable. And that means a adopting a "Moynihan/Penn Station First" policy and deferring construction of the $3 billion deep cavern 34th Street Station at least for the time being.

Full implementation of the ARC Project will require much more than $8.7 billion. The related Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project, without doubling number of trans-Hudson train movements through the ARC tunnels cannot be achieved, adds another $1.7 billion to the total. Its budget also does not include several hundred million dollars for additional locomotives and passenger cars needed to run those trains. This brings the total that must be financed up to at least $11 billion."
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The New Jersey Sierra Club says:
"The Sierra Club is pleased that Governor Christie is denying reports that he plans to kill the ARC tunnel project and will assess its merits. We believe now is the time to for all involved parties to stop throwing mud and come together to improve the project and create a better regional rail system.

The current configuration of the tunnel does not meet the original goals for the project. Instead of connecting to Penn Station or the new Moynihan Station, the ARC tunnel dead ends 180 feet below the ground, two blocks from Penn Station.

The Sierra Club opposed the ARC tunnel in its current form because it is poorly designed and does not meet the goal of making public transportation more accessible and functional. We have consistently maintained the belief that a cohesive transportation plan must be established in order for the ARC tunnel to be effective.

Originally, the ARC project was designed to serve several purposes. First, the plan was to create another tunnel into New York. There were other important goals, including providing New Jersey commuters access to the Grand Central Station and the East Side of Manhattan, creating a backup tunnel for Amtrak that would service Penn Station or the new Moynihan Station, and enabling trains to travel from one area of the metropolitan region to another.
The current plan only meets the first goal.

There are presently five major proposals for the expansion of train service in and out of Midtown Manhattan. Mayor Bloomberg is working to extend the Seven Train, which will go right above this NJ Transit tunnel. The Long Island Railroad wants to provide access to the East Side. Sen. Chuck Schumer is pushing for the new Moynihan Station in Midtown. Congressman Jerry Nadler wants to establish a freight rail tunnel to displace traffic from the roads. Then there's this NJ Transit tunnel proposal. Each project is expecting, and actively seeking, federal dollars."


Moynihan Station Proposal:
This is an expansion of Penn Station first proposed by Senator Moynihan 15 years ago. It includes:

Create a new train hall in the Farley Post Office (Moynihan West):
The mail-sorting room, which is located behind the historic Post Office hall, will become a new train hall for Moynihan Station. The Post Office's retail operations will remain in the historic Post Office Hall, while most of its back-of-house will move to other Post Office facilities.

Relocate Madison Square Garden:
The western half of the Post Office block, where the Annex is located, will be the new home of the Garden.

Rebuild Penn Station (Moynihan East):
Much larger LIRR and NJ TRANSIT train halls on Level A, one level up from the tracks. On Level B, a grand new Amtrak waiting room. On Level C and above, at least 1 million square feet of retail.


Source: MoynihanStation.org


Links:
Feds want to meet Christie, Cuomo to discuss new Hudson rail tunnels, report says | NJ.com 2015
www.arctunnel.com/
  Executive Summary
Access to the Region's Core (ARC) Tunnel - The Port Authority of NY & NJ at panynj.gov
Let's Get Beyond the Politics and Fix the ARC Tunnel NJ Sierra Club
NJ suspends ARC Tunnel work to review costs :: Second Ave. Sagas
More on ARC: The Association of Railroad Passengers weighs in | NJ.com
Moynihan Station
  Map
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last updated 11 April 2010