(The following editorial appeared on the Newark Star-Ledger website on February 11, 2011.)
NEWARK, N.J. — After killing the ARC Tunnel and having the Amtrak solution fall into his lap, Gov. Chris Christie should be on the phone today, arm-twisting Congressional Republicans who threaten the compromise tunnel with proposed cuts to Amtrak funding.
It’s not just the $224 million they’ll slash, it’s the crosshairs the House Republicans have trained on the trains.
Here, in New Jersey, we take that personally. Our roads are crumbling, our bridges need work, our highways are choked with traffic. Mass transit is a solution, but passenger rail commuters can’t find seats to New York.
We rely on the trains. You mess with them, you mess with our jobs.
The full editorial is on the Star-Ledger website.