Wnited States Senate WASHINGTON, DC 20610 April 7, 2017 ‘The Honorable Susan Collins ‘The Honorable Jack Reed Chairman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Transportation, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Housing, and Urban Development Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations United States Senate United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Reed: Commuters, businesses, and families rely on our rail and transit systems to work safely and efficiently, but these systems operate best with sustained federal support. As you work on this year's funding package, we urge you to provide $2.3 billion for new transit projects and $1.6 billion to support Amtrak. President Trump’s budget drastically cut funding to these programs, but they are critical to the state of New Jersey and to the entire Northeast region as we work to improve our rail and transit systems, including the Gateway Project to build the new Hudson River rail tunnels and replace the century-old Portal Bridge in New Jersey. ‘The two recent derailments in New York Penn Station underscore how dangerous President Trump’s proposed cuts are to the safety, economic productivity, and wellbeing of one of the ‘most important economic regions in the world and the most populous metropolitan area in the United States, As a result of the first derailment alone, over 300,000 NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad passengers were delayed. The second derailment caused 8 of the 21 tracks under Penn Station to be shut down for multiple days. While itis too soon to quantify the significant economic toll on the region caused by these derailments, it is estimated that the loss of the Northeast Corridor for a single day would cost the U.S. $100 million in travel delays and lost productivity. These derailments should be a warning call. They effectively blocked access into Penn Station in the same way that a failure in one of the two Hudson River tunnels would, and they caused massive delays and hardship for commuters. If we do not begin work on the Gateway Project, these scenarios could become a permanent problem, wreaking havoc on the region. The economic losses for businesses and lost time and frustration of tens of thousands of our constituents in the last several weeks are only a preview of what may come if construction of new tunnels and a replacement of the Portal Bridge do not begin immediately. We urge you to support funding for the Capital Investment Grants (CG), which are used to build transit projects like Portal Bridge, and to support the maintenance and operations of Amtrak’s system. These programs garnered strong bipartisan support as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which authorized $2.3 billion to CIG and $1.6 billion for Amtrak. These programs benefit communities throughout the country and help drive economicinvestment while also alleviating local transportation problems. For example, Portal Bridge in New Jersey carries more than 400 Amtrak and transit trains per day traveling between Newark, New Jersey, and Penn Station in New York City. Portal Bridge is the equivalent of a major highway carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers to work each day. However, this bridge, which opens and closes for maritime traffic, is a major bottleneck and source of delay for thousands of NJ Transit and Amtrak passengers up and down the whole Northeast Corridor. As part of the broader Gateway Program, NJ Transit and Amtrak have completed final design and federal environmental review for the Portal North Bridge and are planning to commence construction in 2018, should federal dollars be appropriated. Requests for funding for the Portal North Bridge are included in Amtrak’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Justification, the Northeast Corridor Commission Five-Year Capital Plan Fiscal Years 2016-2020, and in the FTA pipeline. Recognizing the urgent threat to our state and the dire need for infrastructure investment around the country, we urge you to reject President Trump’s dangerous proposed cuts and follow the bipartisan congressional commitment to provide robust funding for the CIG and Amtrak. These critical programs will create jobs, provide a significant return on investment, improve reliability and safety, and improve quality of life for the American people. Your committee has been a strong supporter of these programs in the past. We thank you for your work on these critical programs and for your consideration of this request. Sincerely, GA Booker United States Senator United States Senatol