Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a commuter rail project to increase passenger service capacity on New Jersey Transit (NJT) between Secaucus Junction in New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City. New infrastructure would have included new trackage, a new rail yard, and a tunnel under the Hudson River. A new station adjacent to New York Penn Station was to be constructed as running more trains into the current station was deemed unfeasible. An estimated budget for the project was $8.7 billion. Construction began in mid-2009 and the project was slated for completion in 2018, but it was cancelled in October 2010 by Governor Chris Christie, citing the possibility of cost overruns and the state's lack of funds. The project was initiated after studies conducted in the 1990s determined that new rail tunnels under the Hudson River were the best approach to address transportation needs for the New York metropolitan area. After its cancellation, the federal government demanded repayment of funding received by NJT for the project. The Christie administration engaged a law firm to present its arguments for non-payment which were subsequently rejected by the Federal Transit Administration. An agreement was eventually reached in which part of the funds would be returned while other monies would be used on transit-related projects. Soon after work was halted there was speculation that the previously discussed idea of New York Transit Authority's 7 Subway Extension continuing into New Jersey would be revived, but was later scuttled. A March 2012 Government Accountability Office investigated the decision to cancel the project and provided comments that questioned Christie's rationale.
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