Gateway Program (Northeast Corridor)

The Gateway Program is an ongoing expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail line between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City along the right-of-way between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. The project is intended to build new rail bridges in the New Jersey Meadowlands, dig a new set of tunnels under Bergen Hill (Hudson Palisades) and the Hudson River, and rehabilitate the existing 1910 tunnel, all with the goal of doubling train capacity to four tracks along the right-of-way, since the current two-track rail line, used both by Amtrak and NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT), has reached its full capacity of 24 trains per hour.

It was unveiled as the Gateway Project in 2011, one year after the cancellation of the somewhat similar Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project. The need for renovations increased after Hurricane Sandy damaged the North River Tunnels the following year. It took nearly a decade to line up funding and regulatory approval for the biggest component, the new Hudson River tunnel, which began construction in 2023 and is scheduled to open in 2035, with rehabilitation of the old tunnels to follow by 2038. Other components that will complete the full four-track buildout between Newark Penn Station and New York, like the replacement Sawtooth Bridges, are in the planning stage, while some like the Portal South bridge still await commitments and funding.

Background

Right-of-way

The right-of-way was originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in conjunction with the 1910 opening of New York's Pennsylvania Station, which required the construction of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, as well as the North River Tunnels under the Hudson Palisades and Hudson River. The following year the Manhattan Transfer station was opened in the Kearny Meadows to allow changes between steam and electric locomotives. This station also provided for passenger transfers to/from its former main terminal at Exchange Place in Jersey City or the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M), the forerunner of today's Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH). The Dock Bridge over the Passaic River was opened in conjunction with the adjacent Newark Penn Station in 1935.