Cuomo pitches rail tunnel to Trump in ‘productive’ meeting
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he and President Donald Trump had a “productive” meeting Wednesday to discuss one of the Northeast’s most pressing transportation needs: a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
While Trump made no assurances about federal funding for the project, Cuomo said, the Republican president was receptive and said he wants to find a way forward. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly also attending the lunch meeting.
“The president got it,” said Cuomo, a Democrat, noting Trump’s background in construction and development in New York City. “I think in many ways this situation is bigger than politics.”
Local officials and transportation experts have warned for decades about the need for a new tunnel to carry Amtrak and commuter rail service between New York and New Jersey. The current century-old Amtrak tunnel now operates at capacity during rush hours and suffered extensive saltwater damage in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. Amtrak officials say either of the tunnel’s two tubes could fail in the next 10 to 15 years, paralyzing train travel between Boston and Washington on what is known as the Northeast Corridor.