Northeast Republicans threaten Chao over passenger rail line funds

WASHINGTON – Nine House Republicans from the Northeast are threatening congressional oversight measures if U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao does not release $275 million appropriated for Northeast Corridor passenger rail maintenance.

The funds were included in the fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018 federal appropriations bills for the NEC’s State of Good Repair program for service between Washington and Boston.

Over 800,000 daily trips are made on the line by passengers on Amtrak and eight commuter rail authorities that include SEPTA in Pennsylvania, NJ Transit in New Jersey, Metro North in New York and Connecticut, and MBTA Commuter Rail in Massachusetts.

Most of the 457-mile rail line is owned by Amtrak, with the remainder owed by the states of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Lance-Leonard, Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J.
Representative Leonard Lance, a Republican from New Jersey, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Lance discussed his plan to introduce legislation that would allow taxpayers to deduct all of their prepaid 2018 state and local property taxes from their 2017 returns. Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

The letter initiated by Rep. Leonard Lance of New Jersey requests Chao to designate senior DOT officials and staff who will provide lawmakers and their staff “with a plan and regular updates as to the release of these funds.”

Officials at the Transportation Department did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a senior Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, joined in the letter with fellow New Jersey Reps. Tom MacArthur and Christopher Smith.

Two Pennsylvania congressmen from the Philadelphia suburbs, Reps. Ryan Costello and Brian Fitzpatrick, also signed the letter along with New York Reps. Daniel Donovan of Staten Island and Peter King of Long Island.

“Failure to release these funds will result in further congressional inquiry and oversight measures,” the letter warned.

The Federal-State Partnership of Good Repair program has bipartisan support in Congress, the letter said.

The letter describes the program as the “first major funded program for passenger rail infrastructure that was both authorized and appropriated by a Republican controlled Congress –- reflecting the fact that the NEC is America’s most critical transportation asset.”

The money would be used to mitigate future storm damage to the Washington to Boston passenger rail corridor similar to what happened during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

“Following that disaster, the federal government responded in a responsible manner, but now we see an unwarranted and unnecessary delay that could have catastrophic consequences,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

House and Senate lawmakers from the region also have pressed federal transportation officials to complete an environmental impact statement for the Hudson Tunnels project under the Hudson River between Manhattan and northern New Jersey.

The final draft EIS was submitted to the federal government for review in February and was supposed to be completed by March 30.

The new Hudson Tunnels project would provide passengers traveling along Amtrak’s North East Corridor and NJ Transit commuters who work in Manhattan with a reliable link to replace a more than 100-year-old tunnel that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Proponents of Gateway say the existing tunnel needs to be closed for extensive rehabilitation once the new tunnel is operational.

The new two-tube tunnel is part of a larger Gateway project that include a new Portal North Bridge, a high-level fixed span over the Hackensack River that would be capable of supporting NJ Transit and Amtrak trains at speeds of up to 90 mph.

Preliminary construction work on the bridge already is underway while all the design work and government permits have been issued.

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Infrastructure Transportation industry Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Washington DC New Jersey New York
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