$8 million study concerning 8 km rail tunnel from Secaucus NJ on the west bank, under the Hudson River to Penn and Grand Central stations in Manhattan to complement East Side Access project for Long Island Railroad. Final plan to be selected by 2001. June 1999.   $2 billion funding approved by the Senate for proposed fourth rail line under the Hudson River as part of a $7 billion rail programme for Amtrak to upgrade high-speed rail corridors throughout the US. Three proposed options. Option G takes the new tunnel to New York's Penn station, and Grand Central for a cost of $4-$5 billion. Option P ends at Penn station and would cost $3 billion. Option S would take the tunnel to Penn station, and then to the Sunnyside rail yard in Queens for $4-$5 billion. Neither option P or S gets to the East side so that option G is considered the most attractive. 47/01.   The New Jersey Transit approved to undertake a $4.9 million environmental impact study for two one-way tunnels under the Hudson river. The new tunnel would link the Northeast Corridor line with Pennsylvania station in Manhattan, placing the parallel tunnels somewhere in the northern Hoboken-southern Weehawken area on the Hudson's west bank and midtown Manhattan to the east. The project is being undertaken in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) which operates New York City's commuter trains and stations. The new tunnel would cost $5 billion.Visit www.njtransit.com and www.accesstotheregionscore.com 42/02.  The New Jersey Transit board awarded a $4.9 million contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff and Systra Consulting to begin environmental impact studies of a proposed new rail tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan. The two firms plan to finish the study by 2005. The next step would be to secure $16 million in federal funding for engineering studies. The plan for the tunnel includes two one-way tubes under the Hudson River between the Hoboken-Weehawken border and the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The entire tunnel project is estimated to cost up to $5 billion, most of which would come from federal sources. The tunnel would likely take more than 10 years to complete. Visit www.njtransit.com, www.pbworld.com and www.systraconsulting.com 27/03.Congress will grant $5 million in federal funds to begin the studies for developing a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. The funds will be included in the 2004 transportation appropriations bill. The project could cost as much as $5 billion. The $5 million initial appropriation will be used to produce a draft environmental impact statement, one of the first steps necessary to prepare for construction. New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will coordinate the study. The new twin one-way tunnel would be designed to effectively double the number of commuter trains operating between midtown Manhattan and New Jersey. Visit www.njtransit.com 38/03.New Jersey Transit has solicited Expressions of Interest from design firms to provide professional engineering services for the preliminary engineering of the Trans-Hudson Express tunnel (THE tunnel). The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued to interested parties in January. The following three bidders have been shortlisted to receive the Request for Proposal for the THE tunnel: a JV of Atkins and Washington Group International, Hatch Mott MacDonald and a JV of Parsons Brinckerhoff, STV and DMJM Harris.New Jersey Transit hopes to have preliminary engineering completed during 2007, with the aim of having the link ready for revenue service in 2015. The winning bidder may also be invited to undertake overall design, project integration of all facets of the project, and/or one or more segments of final design, as well as construction assistance.The THE tunnel project will span New York and New Jersey and consists mainly of two single-track tunnels under the Palisades in New Jersey and the Hudson River connecting to a new eight-platform underground station under 34th Street and 7th Avenue as well as the existing Penn Station in New York City. Read E-News Weekly 35/2005, 51/2003 & 46/2002. Visit www.njtransit.com and www.accesstotheregionscore.com 14/06.The Trans-Hudson Express (THE) tunnel will start on the west side of Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen Township and continue under the Palisades and Hudson River to the new station under 34th Street between 6th and 8th Avenues in Manhattan. Each of the two tunnels will be approximately 6,100 m long. A connection from the new tunnels to the existing Pennsylvania Station is also included in the project. The external diameter is preliminarily anticipated to be 8.39 m. The interior diameter is preliminarily anticipated to be 7.47 m.The tunnels will be constructed through differing soil conditions. The sections under the Palisades and Manhattan will be bored through rock and the section under the Hudson River will be bored with a shielded machine through the anticipated softer ground conditions. Final cavern shaping will be done by drilling and blasting after rock boring is completed.Preliminary design of the project is anticipated to begin this summer and lining procedures, mucking procedures and construction methods will be advanced during this phase.The earliest construction bid advertisements are anticipated in mid to late 2008. Construction will begin following the bid and award period. Click us/21. Visit www.njtransit.com 15/06.A team of Parsons Brinckerhoff, CH2M Hill and ILF will design the proposed new rail line under the Hudson River. The new tunnel project is a needed improvement to the area's transportation system and will be linked to the railway system in New Jersey and to the subway system in Manhattan via a new station under 34th Street. Read E-News Weekly 33/2006. Visit www.pbworld.com, www.ch2m.com and www.ilf.com 48/06.NJ Transit's board on 13th December, 2006 approved hiring the CM Consortium of Newark for USD5 million as construction managers for the project to build a second Hudson River rail tunnel. The consortium is a joint venture of Tishman Construction, Parsons and Arup. The consortium will provide design oversight, make independent cost estimates, develop a master project schedule, and create a quality control plan. The consortium will oversee three engineering firms, named THE Partnership, who have already been awarded contracts in August to create preliminary designs for the proposed Hudson River commuter train tunnel and new Moynihan station. The project includes a new tunnel under the Palisades in New Jersey and the Hudson River to midtown Manhattan and an expanded rail station connected to the existing New York Penn station. Concept plans call for construction of two side-by-side, single-track tunnels of 6.6 km in length. NJ Transit hopes that construction on the projects could begin in 2009 and be completed by 2016. Visit www.tishmanconstruction.com, www.parsons.com and www.arup.com 03/07.THE Partnership, a joint venture that includes Parsons Brinckerhoff, STV Group and DMJM Harris and names itself as the Trans-Hudson Express (THE) Partnership, began preliminary design in August 2006 and will finish the work in about 13 months from now. Their contract is worth USD82.5 million. The THE tunnel is the centre piece of the USD6 billion Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project. Then, ARC will move into final design, the last pre-construction phase, assuming financing is in place to pay for the project. Click us/21. Visit www.pbworld.com, www.stvinc.com and www.dmjmharris.com 03/07.