Amtrak's Gateway Imperiled by Trump Proposal to Slash Funding
- Menendez warns of potential for ‘catastrophic ripple effect’
- New York-area rail project called crucial to national economy
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President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget outline calls for the elimination of billions of dollars that Amtrak is counting on for Gateway, the proposed rail tunnel project under the Hudson River designed to ease New York City-area commuter travel.
Trump’s plan, laid out Thursday in a budget blueprint to Congress, calls for an end to the U.S. Transportation Department’s New Starts program, which provides about $2.3 billion annually to commuter rail and bus rapid-transit programs. The approval process for New Starts financing of the $24 billion project , which includes replacing a century-old bridge in New Jersey, began in July.