High-speed rail funding a boon to Garden State
By Evelyn Lee
2/15/2010
The White House plan to award $38.5 million in high-speed rail funds to New Jersey will help the Garden State establish a faster, more efficient rail system that will reduce congestion, oil use and emissions, according to a report from NJPIRG, a Trenton-based public interest advocacy group.
According to “The Right Track” — which was released last week and analyzed the potential of high-speed rail in nine U.S. regions — the Northeast Corridor system between Boston and Washington, D.C., carries some 10 million passengers a year.
High-speed travel on the rail line depends on replacing its aging infrastructure — including the Portal Bridge, which has been in operation since 1910 and runs across the Hackensack River between the cities of Kearny and Secaucus.
The $38.5 million in rail funds will go toward the Portal Bridge Enhancement Capacity project, which is being undertaken by NJ Transit and Amtrak and aims to improve and increase the rail crossing’s capacity.
