Feb. 28, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that a longtime idea to extend the 7 train across the Hudson River will be one of several items on the table as part of a long-term study the agency is commissioning.
The agency is working with the MTA, New York City Transit, and New Jersey Transit to consider the myriad ways rapid transit can be expanded across the Hudson River, according to the New York Times. One of those ways, according to Rick Cotton, the agency’s executive director, will include extending the 7 line.
“The challenge is, looking forward, to increase the capacity of commuters to get to and from residences in New Jersey,” Cotton said at a recent event, according to AM New York. “It could be the extension of the 7 line, could be other alternatives in terms of how do you continue looking at a 2040-type time frame that, by then, you’ve significantly increased the ability to move passengers across the Hudson.”
The Port Authority has already received several bids from companies looking to take on the 18-month study after the agency released a request for proposals earlier this month. The deadline to submit proposals closed two days ago.
The idea to bring the 7 line to New Jersey gained some momentum in 2010, and was pushed by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but has been dormant ever since.
An MTA spokesperson declined to discuss the study with the Times, but said it is looking forward to discussing long-term options for trans-Hudson transportation.
The PATH train system is the single rapid transit system crossing the Hudson River now, operated by the Port Authority. The system, like the NYC Subway system, is also plagued by overcrowding.
