Christie’s gubernatorial office said the meeting with Foxx is scheduled to take place in Newark on Tuesday, after weeks of transportation advocates blaming the governor’s cancelation of an earlier train tunnel for rail delays that have plagued New Jersey commuters this summer.
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It was not immediately clear if New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was invited to or would be attending the meeting, though Foxx invited both he and Christie to a sitdown last month.
“Our next tunnel project must work for everyone, benefit everyone, and be paid for by everyone”, Hakim said.
Amtrak, which owns the tracks used by New Jersey Transit, in 2011 proposed Gateway, a $16 billion link under the Hudson meant to ease Manhattan commuter congestion.
“We’re looking at a variety of funding options and we’re willing to work with regional leaders to expedite them”, said Jon Romano, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In 2009, Mr. Christie scuttled plans for what was then called the ARC Tunnel, which stood for “Access to the Regions Core”, because he said New Jersey, not the Port Authority, would be on the hook for cost overruns.
Cuomo said New York will pay its fair share, but only after Washington commits to paying most of the cost. The project would have created two new tunnels for NJ Transit trains that deposited them alongside Pennsylvania Station, and would have ended the need to share the existing Amtrak tunnels-which, with both services running through them, are at capacity.
The New York governor had said it was premature to meet till the Obama administration committed significant funding to the project.
“I want to frame the discussion right from the beginning”, Cuomo told host Pat Kiernan. The pair carried rifles and wore camouflage clothing, face masks and bullet-proof vests, but they were unable to find the money, court records show.
In addition, two new tracks will need to be added between New Jersey stations Newark and Secaucus, where two now exist.
Speaking on NY1, the Democratic governor said he is trying to “provoke” a conversation at the federal level about the need to pay for the tunnel.
Some elements of the project are already in motion. For example, environmental and design work has been completed for a replacement for the 105-year-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, a regular source of delays.
The rest will be dictated by when, and how much, funding is available.
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Klepper reported from Albany, New York.
