Capacity & Resiliency & Expansion, Oh My!

The future of rail in the Northeast took a big step today with the groundbreaking of the Hudson Yards Right-of-Way Preservation project to secure a pathway for future Hudson River rail tunnels to connect with Penn Station. Not up to date on the latest rail news? Let us bring you up to speed.

Because of a massive mixed-use development project going up at Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan, Amtrak had to jump into action and secure the pathway for future underground rail tunnels, before the structural columns of large office and residential buildings block the pathway forever.

The Gateway Program is a series of infrastructure projects that will double train capacity between Newark, New Jersey, and Penn Station, New York including two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River.  It’s kind of a big deal. But what does this really mean and how will it benefit you? Three words: capacity, resiliency and expansion.

Capacity – Currently, 450 commuter and intercity trains enter Penn Station each day from New Jersey. The Gateway Program will double Amtrak intercity rail services. Simply put, more access into the Big Apple.

Resiliency – The modernization of tunnels significantly enhances protection from future storms like Superstorm Sandy. Upgraded design features like flood gates and greater pumping capacity will increase the tunnels’ resiliency in the case of emergencies.

Expansion – The Gateway Program will support the future expansion of Amtrak high-speed rail (yay!) and regional and state supported intercity services throughout the entire Northeast Region.

For more information about our improvement projects and continued investment along the Northeast Corridor, visit our Northeast Corridor website, nec.amtrak.com.