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, rehabilitate the existing 1910 tunnel, and construct a new terminal annex. The improvements are designed to double train capacity from 24 to 48 trains per hour and permit more high-speed rail service along the current right-of-way, whose two-track rail line, used both by Amtrak and NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT), has reached its full capacity.

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 these renovations only increased after Hurricane Sandy had damaged the North River Tunnels the following year. After years of political and funding delays, the project was formally approved by the federal government in 2021, and major construction began in 2023. The total cost of the Hudson Tunnel Project component is estimated at $16 billion. The new tunnel is scheduled to open in 2035, with the rehabilitation of the existing tunnels to be completed by 2038.

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. In 1937, the H&M was extended over a second span, making the transfer in the meadows redundant.

In 1949, the PRR discontinued its ferry system on the Hudson, and in 1961, it closed its Exchange Place station. In 1963, due to declining traffic and revenue, the PRR demolished the above-ground New York Penn Station. It retained its below-ground passenger concourses and waiting areas, and sold its air rights, enabling construction of a new Madison Square Garden. In 1967, the Aldene Plan was implemented, requiring the floundering Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Reading (RDG), and Lehigh Valley (LV) railroads, to travel into Newark Penn while continuing service to New York Penn. Under continued financial pressure, the PRR merged with New York Central (NYC) in 1968, but the newly-formed Penn Central (PC) declared bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. In 1976, the PC long-distance service (including part of today's Northeast Corridor and Empire Corridor) was assumed by Amtrak, which had been founded in 1971. Conrail was created in 1976 to consolidate numerous Northeast private railroads, including commuter service on the CNJ and the LV. Conrail divested itself from passenger operations in 1983, and NJT assumed control.

In 1991, NJT opened the Waterfront Connection, extending service on several non-electrified trains which had previously terminated at Newark Penn Station to Hoboken. In 1996, NJT inaugurated Midtown Direct service, rerouting some trains from the west which previously terminated at Hoboken Terminal to New York Penn. Secaucus Junction was opened in 2003, allowing passengers travelling from the north to transfer to Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, or Midtown Direct trains, though not to Amtrak, which made no stops there. Between 1976 and 2010, the number of NJT weekday trains crossing the Hudson using the North River Tunnels (under contract with Amtrak) increased from 147 to 438.

The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily traveled railway in the United States, and is the only rail line that travels under the Hudson River and through New York City. The other rail system crossing the Hudson was developed by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, partially in conjunction with the PRR, and taken over by PANYNJ in 1962, who rebranded the H&M as the PATH, a rapid transit system. Direct trans-Hudson rail service to Lower Manhattan from Newark Penn is provided by PATH with additional terminals at World Trade Center and Herald Square in Manhattan, and at Hoboken Terminal and Journal Square in Hudson County, New Jersey. In 1971 New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill proposed constructing another rail tunnel from Weehawken, New Jersey, to 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

There are three vehicular crossings of the lower Hudson River. The Holland Tunnel, opened in 1927, is minimally used for public transportation and connects Jersey City, New Jersey, to lower Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, is used by suburban buses to GWB Bus Terminal, and connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, to upper Manhattan. Its lower level, opened in 1962, is the last new river crossing. The Lincoln Tunnel, composed of three tubes opened in 1937, 1945, and 1954, connects Weehawken, New Jersey, to Midtown Manhattan. More than 6,000 bus trips are made through the tunnel and bus terminal daily. Its eastern terminus is connected via ramps to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the gateway for most NJT bus traffic entering Manhattan. Despite the Lincoln Tunnel XBL (express bus lane) during the morning peak there are often long delays due to traffic congestion and the limited capacity of the bus terminal.

Launched in 1995 by PANYNJ, NJT, and MTA, Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a Major Investment Study that looked at public transportation ideas for the New York metropolitan area. It found that long-term goals would best be met by better connections to and in-between the region's major rail stations in Midtown Manhattan, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The East Side Access project, including tunnels under the East River and the East Side of Manhattan, was completed in early 2023; some LIRR traffic has been diverted to Grand Central, freeing up track slots at Penn Station.