A Tale of Two Tunnels.
I know there are those who don’t like it when I criticize Donald Trump and his administration. When I have done so in the past, I do believe that my criticisms have been on the merits of whatever issue it was and not because of my loathing for our president.
But he’s really gone and done it this time by pressuring Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress to withhold federal dollars from the Gateway Project—the plan to construct two new tunnels beneath the Hudson River for rail traffic connecting New York City with New Jersey and points south.
The existing tunnels are more than 100 years old and surely . . . surely! . . . as a businessman and as a New Yorker, Trump knows that a severe natural disaster could cause those tunnels to become unusable. In fact, Hurricane Sandy came very close to doing exactly that six years ago.
As many as 400 New Jersey Transit trains take thousands of commuters into the city and bring them back home through those tunnels every day. Dozens of Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains take business people to and from Philadelphia and Washington. Other Amtrak trains originating in New York carry people to hundreds of destinations all down the East Coast as far as Tampa and Miami. Still more Amtrak trains pass through those tunnels en route to Atlanta and New Orleans, or west to Cincinnati and Indianapolis and Chicago.
Should the existing tunnels fail, the loss to the regional economy has been computed by some smart people using really smart computers: one hundred million dollars a day!
Here’s one more relevant item to consider: best estimates are that it will take six years to finish the new tunnels once the project is approved. How’s that for a truly frightening scenario: one hundred million dollars X five days a week X 52 weeks X six years.
Do the damn math, Mr. President!
For those who don’t think tax dollars should be used for the tunnels:
This sounds like the “my kids don’t go to school, so I don’t want to pay property taxes” argument.
Repairing, improving, and EXPANDING passenger rail infrastructure ALL OVER THE COUNTRY is EXACTLY how I want to spend my tax dollars. Preserving, protecting and renewing this country’s infrastructure used to be (until November 2016) almost the only issue both sides agreed on. The economic and safety benefits far outweigh the false economy of foregoing these upgrades.
Additionally, this administration has been going down the road of using their power to withhold crucial funds from areas who do not support it’s policies politically (for example disaster funding for California after the fires and Puerto Rico after the hurricane.) The executive branch is supposed to represent ALL of us, not punish those who do not traditionally vote red. Our President’s efforts to use federal funds as a whip is a dangerous precedent, and further divides us at a time when we need to be pulling together to solve a multitude of challenges.
Last, speaking personally, I do not want MY tax dollars to go to a war in Iran or into the pockets of the many swamp monster cronies Trump has imported into Washington.
Unfortunately, bad things can happen to good workers. Union contracts are negotiated in good faith with management. Safety issues are of prime importance. There is dignity in work. Additionally, union contracts stability for both management and employees
As you see, the question is not whether those tunnels need to be replaced and/or enhanced but rather, who should pay for it
For me, as a Kansan, and avid Amtrak long-distance fan, it’s difficult for me to feel I should help pay for, at extravagantly high New York union scale labor rates, costs for that tunnel.
Yes, some Amtrak trains outside of the NEC use it, but I’m sure most of the traffic is for NY-NJ commuters.
By the way, for long-distance Amtrak passengers who want to avoid New York City at all costs, it’s not that difficult. I’ve taken all the western trains except the Sunset Limited and I’ve been east several times, on both the Capitol Limited and Cardinal as far as Washington, DC, ad enjoyed the Acela and Keystone to Philadelphia and further into Pennsylvania.
And, by the way, I’ve heard nothing good about New York’s Penn Station.
Of course I don’t know how other Amtrak users who live outside of the northeast corridor feel, but I’m not convinced my tax dollars should be used for the project in question
You have a point, but the NEC is still a major economic powerhouse for the US, if it stumbles, it will be felt throughout the country.
Absolutely!