Amtrak: Connecting the Dots 52
http://users.sisna.com/jimbobnay/amtkpower.htm
Amtrak, a rail company that once thought itself doomed to obsolescence, is now expanding so quickly that it finds itself constantly dealing with capacity issues. Currently, the number one problem area is Penn Station and the lines that feed into it. In order to ease the situation, Amtrak has taken a major role in planning the Gateway Project, a proposed series of rail infrastructure improvements around the Hudson River, Newark, and Penn Station. The project is projected to be completed around 2030 (“The Gateway Program: Critical Capacity Expansion to the Northeast Corridor”), and construction has already started on the Hudson Yards Right of Way Preservation, two tunnel segments west of Penn Station that will quickly be covered by the mixed-use Hudson Yards development. The Gateway Project also plans to build two new tunnels under the Hudson River, expand Penn Station (see page __), construct two new portal bridges across the Hackensack River, reconstruct the existing Hudson River Tunnels, as well as other basic improvements. The project hopes to increase existing rail capacity, improve the system’s resiliency to storms and flooding, improve commuter transit between New Jersey and New York, and prepare for true high speed rail on the NEC (“The Gateway Program: Critical Capacity Expansion to the Northeast Corridor”).
The Gateway Project
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/02/07/arc-revived-as-the-amtrak-gateway-project/
gateway map
The map to the left outlines the basics of the proposed Gateway Project. The addtion of a second rail line relieves the current bottleneck and allows potential for a future dedicated HSR line. Courtesy of The Transport Politic.