The Gateway Program (originally Gateway Project) is the planned phased expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail line between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City, New York. The right-of-way runs between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station (NYP). The project would build new rail bridges in the New Jersey Meadowlands and new tunnels under Bergen Hill (Hudson Palisades) and the Hudson River, and expand NYP through conversion of part of the James Farley Post Office into a train station and construction a terminal annex. The existing two-track rail line used by both Amtrak (AMTK) and New Jersey Transit (NJT) has reached its full capacity of 24 trains per hour. Once completed, the improvements would double train capacity across the Hudson River to 48 trains per hour, allowing for additional high-speed rail service. Gateway was unveiled in 2011, one year after Governor Chris Christie's cancellation of the somewhat similar Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project. Some previously planned improvements already underway were incorporated into the Gateway program. The need for the Gateway Program increased after Hurricane Sandy damaged the existing North River tunnels. Funding for the project had been unclear for several years due to a lack of funding commitments from state and federal government. As of March 2018, up to $541 million for the project was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
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