WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s mass transit subcommittee, and Cory Booker, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, joined several colleagues from northeast states in pushing for robust federal investment in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) to make needed repairs, improve safety, and advance the Gateway Project to replace the aging Portal Bridge in Kearny and the trans-Hudson River rail tunnels, which were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

“…As any commuter or traveler on the NEC can attest, the infrastructure is at risk of failing,” the senators said in a letter to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.). “The NEC has a current state of good repair backlog of over $30 billion, and the corridor’s most heavily trafficked bridges and tunnels are well over a century old. Moreover, because service levels have virtually reached capacity, even more investments will be required to expand service to meet projected increases in ridership and to fully realize the transformative potential of the NEC.”

Specifically, the senators have requested $500 million to fund the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair (SGR) Program and $255 million to fund the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, with $150 million set aside to help mainly commuter rail operators, like New Jersey Transit (NJT), implement life-saving Positive Train Control (PTC) technology.

The National Transportation Safety Board cited the absence of PTC as a contributing factor in the fatal, Sept. 2016 NJT train crash at the Hoboken Terminal. Last year, Sens. Menendez and Booker secured $10 million in federal funding to help NJT advance PTC implementation.

The NEC is the backbone for a region that generates 20% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Gateway Project, supported by both Sens. Menendez and Booker, would make much-needed infrastructure improvements along the NEC between Newark, N.J., and New York City, including replacing the 106-year-old Portal Bridge and building a new trans-Hudson tunnel.

“…Tens of millions of Americans rely on our rail system to safely and reliably move people and goods across our country,” the senators’ letter continued. “In particular, the economic impact of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) cannot be overstated: seven million jobs are located within five miles of a station on the line; workers who ride the NEC contribute $50 million annually to the U.S. economy; and a loss of the NEC for a single day would cost the U.S. $100 million in travel delays and lost productivity.”

In addition to Sens. Menendez and Booker, the letter was cosigned by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Full text of the letter is below and can be downloaded here:

April 19, 2018

The Honorable Susan Collins The Honorable Jack Reed

Chairwoman Ranking Member

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on

Transportation, Housing and Urban Transportation, Housing and Urban

Development, and Related Agencies Development, and Related Agencies

Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510

Chairwoman Collins and Ranking Member Reed,

As you develop the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill, we write to respectfully request $500 million to fund the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair (SGR) Program and $255 million to fund the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. The SGR Program is perhaps the most critical program to enhance the safety and reliability of our nation’s busiest passenger and freight rail network—the Northeast Corridor—while maximizing the return of federal investments. Our $500 million request for the program is consistent with the funding level passed by the House of Representatives in FY 2018. As you know, the CRISI Program was authorized by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of passenger and freight rail systems. We respectfully request that you fund the CRISI Program at $255 million, an amount equal to the authorized level for FY 2019 in the FAST Act. Out of our $255 million request for the program, we request that $150 million be set aside for Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation grants with a preference for commuter rail operators.

America’s passenger and freight rail networks form the backbone of our economy. From the freight and state-supported passenger rail routes in rural America to the nation’s busiest passenger rail system in the Northeast Corridor (NEC), tens of millions of Americans rely on our rail system to safely and reliably move people and goods across our country. In particular, the economic impact of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) cannot be overstated: seven million jobs are located within five miles of a station on the line; workers who ride the NEC contribute $50 million annually to the U.S. economy; and a loss of the NEC for a single day would cost the U.S. $100 million in travel delays and lost productivity. However, as any commuter or traveler on the NEC can attest, the infrastructure is at risk of failing. The NEC has a current state of good repair backlog of over $30 billion, and the corridor’s most heavily trafficked bridges and tunnels are well over a century old. Moreover, because service levels have virtually reached capacity, even more investments will be required to expand service to meet projected increases in ridership and to fully realize the transformative potential of the NEC. NEC stakeholders and states have worked diligently together to improve the corridor and to fund capital projects, and a strong federal investment in the SGR Program would be a catalyst for further collaboration and additional non-federal investment.

On behalf of our millions of constituents who depend on a safe a reliable rail network, we urge you to fund the SGR Program in the FY 2019 THUD Appropriations bill at $500 million and the CRISI Program at $255 million, with $150 million set aside for PTC implementation grants with a preference for commuter rail operators. We appreciate your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,