Friday, October 8, 2010

Christie Kills Hudson Train Tunnel - NYTimes.com

Christie Kills Hudson Train Tunnel - NYTimes.com: "The largest public transit project in the nation, a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River to Manhattan, was halted on Thursday by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey because, he said, the state could not afford its share of the project’s rising cost."

Christie is right. Ambitious rail projects should not be superimposed on the current unsustainable autosprawl system. We should use those $billions to make local urban public transit fare-free. Then when we have reaped the tremendous savings from ending the auto mess, we can implement rail projects.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

NJ governor puts a halt to major public transit project | Grist

Ambitious rail projects without bus and streetcar support make easy targets for fossil-fuel trolls. We need basic public transit first. Then rail. Fight for free buses.

NJ governor puts a halt to major public transit project | Grist: "ARC (it stands for 'Access to the Region's Core') had been in the works for 20 years and was slated to cost $8.7 billion, a pricetag that was to be split between the federal government, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the state of New Jersey. It would have created a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River -- doubling commuter rail capacity between New Jersey and New York, one of the most heavily traveled and economically vibrant corridors in the nation. It would also have created 6,000 jobs annually. (Here's some audio from the hopeful groundbreaking a year ago.)"