NJT seeks federal funds for infrastructure

NJ TRANSIT is seeking $885 million in new federal funding for the renewal and replacement of key infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor, such as aging bridges, power supply and signal systems between Trenton and New York City, Web site njtoday.net reported.  

A critical component of
these upgrades will be the replacement of Amtrak’s Portal Bridge and concurrent
expansion of rail capacity over the Hackensack River, an effort that will
eliminate a major bottleneck and source of delays for rail commuters in New
Jersey.

"These funds enable us
to invest in improving the reliability and capacity of the busiest passenger
rail line in North America — the Northeast Corridor," said NJ TRANSIT
Executive Director Jim Weinstein.

"Amtrak fully supports
the NJ TRANSIT application for this vital project to improve the movement of
passenger trains on the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor," said Stephen
Gardner, vice president, Policy and Development, Amtrak. "Portal Bridge’s
replacement with a modern design, including a new third track, will expand
capacity and provide for more efficient rail operations."

Applying on behalf of NJ
TRANSIT, the State of New Jersey is seeking funding from the Fiscal Year 2010
High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program as part of the Trenton-to-New York
Service Development Program (SDP). The construction program is intended to
improve trip times, reliability and capacity on the nation’s most critical
passenger rail asset. In addition, the SDP will reduce delays associated with
current passenger rail congestion between Trenton and New York Penn Station —
the most heavily utilized section of the Northeast Corridor by commuters and
intercity travelers.

The most significant
component of the Trenton-to-New York SDP is the replacement of Portal Bridge,
the 100-year-old moveable bridge between Newark and New York Penn Station. The
bridge has exceeded its useful life, as reflected in high maintenance costs and
frequent failures that result in train delays. Each weekday, nearly 330 NJ
TRANSIT trains must cross Portal Bridge as they travel into or out of New York
Penn Station.

In addition to improving
reliability for today’s rail travelers, the agencies are working to leverage
the Northeast Corridor’s benefits to the economy through reduced passenger
rail, vehicle and air traffic congestion, as well as economic development.