Gateway vs ARC: Matters of Timing and Funding

The ARC tunnel, which Governor Chris Christie killed, would've cost half the price of the $24 billion Gateway Project. But Gateway aims to do more than just add a tunnel under the Hudson.

Gateway encompasses several projects in both states.

Last month, in two instances, trains got stuck in the tunnel to Penn Station, causing massive delays. An extra tunnel would alleviate the pressure on the tunnel, so why not just revive the ARC tunnel, which was so far along already?

One reason is the MTA's new 7 line extension to Manhattan's far West Side.

"Those changes in Hudson Yards precluded the ARC option," Richard Barone, vice president of Transportation at the Regional Plan Association, said.  "So it's actually in the way."

The Gateway Project is also hoping to provide redundancy not just to tunnels, but to things like bridges in New Jersey, such as the Portal Bridge, which is a century old and, if it were to fail, could be as devastating to commuters in New Jersey as losing a tunnel.

Having that extra tunnel means Amtrak can finally shutdown the existing tunnel and make repairs and upgrades to that tunnel, which was damaged during Sandy. Experts call it a ticking time bomb because needs essential components need to be replaced.

As for Penn Station, it's already operating at double the capacity that it was designed for, and this project would alleviate pressure by adding rails and platforms that can absorb more people.

Right now, officials are still trying to figure out exactly what that will look like and exactly where in Penn it'll happen.