Overview of the Hudson Terminal Plan

The Hudson Terminal Plan seeks to address a number of transit-based challenges currently facing the New York metropolitan region, including the lack of adequate cross-Hudson rail capacity, a limited number of tracks and platforms serving Penn Station, and a gap in mass transit service to Manhattan’s West Side. Other recent proposals have suggested the expansion of Penn Station and its surroundings. However, due to existing infrastructural limitations, these proposals come with great costs for minimal relative benefits. The bold solution to the complex transit problems facing the region is to build a third transit hub in Manhattan—the new Hudson Terminal. Where current proposals suggest doubling inbound capacity by building two new tracks over ten miles from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station, Hudson Terminal will be able to triple inbound capacity by utilizing existing trackage that already travels to the banks of the Hudson River. Not only would this proposal contain costs significantly, but it would also take advantage of the robust, yet underused NJ Transit lines traveling to Hoboken, NJ. In conjunction with this transit hub, mass transit lines will be extended to provide vital connections for commuters and rail travelers to Hudson Terminal, which will be located at the intersection of 14th Street and 11th Avenue. Provisions will be made to allow for future integration of high-speed rail and the addition of another level of trackage in order to best prepare for the continued growth of New York City and its surrounding areas.

Great cities have always been judged by their great infrastructure, as without unified commuter rail networks or mass transit systems, a city is just a collection of towns. To ensure that the New York metropolitan region is able to maintain its greatness for generations to come, it is crucial that the public continues to make sensible investments in robust infrastructure projects such as the Hudson Terminal Plan.