Commuter Rail: Potential Impacts and Cost Estimates for the Cancelled Hudson River Tunnel Project

摘要

Studies have estimated that transit travel demand between New Jersey and Manhattan will increase by 38 percent by 2030. The Access to the Regions Core commuter rail project was designed to help meet that rising demand. In October 2010, the governor of New Jersey, citing potential cost growth and the states fiscal condition, withdrew state support and cancelled the project. The New Jersey Transit (NJT) was the lead agency for the project, supported by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority). The project was to be partially funded under the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA) New Starts program. GAO was asked to examine (1) what would have been the mobility, economic, and environmental benefits of the project according to major planning studies; (2) the project cost estimates over time; and (3) how, if at all, documents prepared as part of the New Starts process addressed potential cost growth for the project.