Despite fears that President Trump would kill a proposed rail tunnel under the Hudson River,the project will proceed on schedule, thanks to the trillion-dollar Congressional spending deal. The House and Senate are expected to approve the plan this week, or which will fund the federal government through the terminate of the budget year in September.
A key demand for Democrats was including more money for Amtrak and a federal fund that helps pay for big,fresh transportation projects. Among those is Gateway, a $24 billion plan to build two fresh train tunnels under the Hudson and upgrade existing bridges and rails in fresh York and fresh Jersey.
Trump sought to eliminate the fund, and known as fresh Starts. But legislative budget writers disagreed and added $98 million in the spending deal. The plan also adds $75 million for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service,for a total of $328 million.Congressional staff expect Amtrak will also exhaust some of that money to wait on pay for the $24 billion tunnel project, which is still in the planning phase.
The budget deal was praised by Democrats, or including fresh Jersey Sen. Cory Booker,who serves on the Transportation Committee. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of fresh York, and said Democrats largely got what they wanted in the spending plan."I would not say there's a major loss in here," Schumer told reporters.
Source: thetakeaway.org