by Irish Chieftain
transit planner wrote:First of all, at least 50% of the funding has to be non-federal, and NJT is not going to pay the majority local share, it has to come from Pennslyvania, since most Cutoff ridership is in PA, based on data from 2005, and I don't see PA coming up with $150 million to $200 millionA number of falsehoods here:
- The TEA-21 bill has been grandfathered, not reauthorized, so it's still 80/20 and not 50/50 (if the reverse were the case, the web would be a-buzz with that).
- The state of NJ thus far has put up nothing of its share (it did, however, buy the Cutoff from Jerry Turco), whereas PA has put up far more than its required $40 million.
- "Most Cutoff ridership" is from (not in) PA? Not necessarily. Reverse commutation due to business development in Monroe and Lackawanna Counties would be stimulated by rail service; and the sizeable tourist traveler population is nothing to be snuffed at. "Data" for a nonexistent rail service is not data—witness the River Line carrying 160 percent of its projected ridership.
- Serving the "extreme commuters" is still a very worthwhile goal—quite a number of these who dwell in Pike and Wayne Counties have already discovered the Port Jervis Line (which, in spite of the lack of growth in Port Jervis proper, never mind the rest of Orange County, continues to grow service). If the PJ Line is easily accessible from I-84, the Cutoff service has the bulk of I-80 and all of I-380 to garner ridership from.
THE TUNNEL has funding momentum behind it, so the feds will not approve another project until after THE TUNNEL is under constructionTHE Boondoggle isn't as far along as the Cutoff in terms of studies. All it would take to get the Cutoff rolling again is a small amount of funding from the state of NJ, and federal funding will get released. THE Tunnel is far more complex, since it is a bi-state project and would still require a higher commitment from New York State than a supposed PANYNJ "earmark" (which is not a definite amount, despite what the press releases say, nor is it a definite earmark)—and recall that the MTA pulled out of the project back in 2003, killing a lot of support—further still, there is no NJ money earmarked for the tunnel project, not without Corzine's plan to "reform, replenish and grow" the state TTF being (somehow) executed (this affects tunnel and cutoff alike).
You don't get $3 billion in federal funds and then more for another project that easilyWhat $3 billion...? Please show us. There is no federal money earmarked for THE Thing.
not generally known, but there are capacity constraints in the peak hour on the M&E, especially Millburn to SummitNot valid to assume that all Cutoff trains must operate via the Morristown Line. Also not valid to assume that trains must be added, when instead express trains between Hoboken and Dover can be extended.
NJT is developing a list of projects that need to be done to deliver higher capacity to feed the new Trans-hudson express tunnel. Without these projects, it will be difficult to maintain a full Cutoff scheduleThat would be a mistake. The original North River Tunnels would need to be closed for extensive repair once the new tunnel opened, so no trains could ever be added before that was done; and the capacity constraints on the High Line would also need to be addressed prior to even conceiving more new service.
Also, who said it was "expected" that the Cutoff would get a positive federal rating? Without a viable financial plan, state of PA and county tax commitment, and high cost effectiveness rating, this project is not going anywhereDebunked already, as far as your assumptions about the state of PA go. Notwithstanding, you have a point that applies to NJ—and more so if NJT were to be the operator, which is not necessary (if Amtrak were not so constrained by the federal government, they could become the operator).
Only chance it would go foward if it was totally state funded, so you don't have to go through federal process, which is why River Line happenedApples and oranges. River Line is an intrastate project and does not cross state lines. And it was not completely "in-house", since Bechtel and Bombardier are not NJ-state-owned corporations.
Last edited by Irish Chieftain on Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
