Tom Kean Must Own Damning Conclusions from RVL One Seat Ride Study

Supported Canceling Construction of the ARC Tunnel in 2010

Bridgewater, NJ – Today, New Jersey Transit released the results of a study examining the feasibility of peak-hour one-seat-ride options on the Raritan Valley Line. The study concluded that achieving peak one seat ride options in our area was highly unlikely without major rail expansion projects – like the Gateway Tunnel.

Had Senator Tom Kean Jr. not supported cancelling the ARC Tunnel project ten years ago, Raritan Valley Line commuters would have one seat ride today, and today’s unsatisfactory study would not have been necessary. The ARC Tunnel, which would have created a dedicated pathway under the Hudson River for NJ Transit trains bound for New York, was originally slated for completion in 2018.

At the time Kean thanked Christie for canceling the tunnel’s construction, which has been called “one of the worst decisions in recent New Jersey history” by transit advocates, and praised the project’s demise as “a victory.” Today’s study shows it was anything but.

“The main conclusion of the study Senator Kean commissioned is that one seat ride on the Raritan Valley Line depends on the very thing he helped get cancelled a decade ago — a new Hudson River tunnel.” said Malinowski Campaign Manager Daniel Fleiss. “Tom Kean blew his chance to get this done for New Jersey commuters when a little leadership from him might have made a difference.”

Since taking office in 2019, Congressman Malinowski has made the Gateway project — made necessary by the cancellation of ARC — one of his top priorities. The very first bill he introduced has made it easier for New Jersey to finance its portion of the project. Just this month, he helped shape provisions in the recently-passed INVEST Act that would create a new funding stream for projects of national significance like Gateway, while limiting the Department of Transportation’s flexibility to slow the project down. The Congressman also helped overcome the Trump administration’s resistance to the Portal North Bridge — the first stage of Gateway — which has secured federal support and is now in the engineering phase of development — the final step before construction can begin.