Our weekly “New Starts” roundup of new and newsworthy transportation projects worldwide.

New York, New Jersey Form Joint Commission to Raise Funds for Gateway Project

Rail riders up and down the Northeast Corridor have been anxiously following news about the stalled Gateway project, a plan to replace aging bridges and build new Hudson River tunnels along Amtrak’s main line between Newark and New York. The new tunnels especially are urgently needed after Superstorm Sandy seriously damaged the existing tunnels leading into New York Penn Station, and many worry that one or both of those tunnels may fail before new ones open.

This makes the news that New York and New Jersey have decided to get serious about getting Gateway moving espeically welcome. As reported in Railway Track & Structures, the two states have agreed to form a bi-state Gateway Development Commission whose job will be to secure the funding needed to get construction underway.

The seven-member commission will consist of three members from each state and an Amtrak representative. The enabling legislation calls for New York and New Jersey to split the estimated $30 billion price tag for the project evenly between them. Each state’s governor can veto actions of the commission. The New Jersey House and New York legislature are still working out details of the bills establishing the commission, but the New Jersey Senate may already have voted on legislation by the time you read this.

PATH Moves to Add Capacity Through Its Existing Tunnels

While intercity riders wait anxiously for Gateway to get off the ground and under the river, commuters in the New York region will soon find that they have a little more room as they shuttle under the Hudson.

Metro Report International reports that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a “PATH Improvement Plan” on June 20. The plan calls for a total of $850 million in improvements to the trans-Hudson metro that together will increase its carrying capacity by up to 40 percent.

The bulk of that money — $750 million, to be exact — will be spent on improving the signaling system to allow headways to be reduced to three minutes at peak hours. The PANYNJ estimates that this would increase capacity by 30 percent on the Hoboken–World Trade Center, Journal Square–33rd Street and Hoboken–33rd Street routes and 40 percent on the Newark-WTC line. The signal improvements should be completed by 2022.

The remaining $80 million is going towards station modifications, including platform lengthening, that will allow all stations to accommodate nine-car trains. PATH ordered 72 new cars from Kawasaki Heavy Industries last year to allow the longer consists; the cars should enter service in late 2021 and early 2022.

The plan also includes some immediate capacity improvements in the form of an additional peak-hour train on the Newark–WTC and Journal Square-33rd St lines starting in September. In addition, a two-and-a-half-year, $50 million initiative aims to reduce major causes of delays, including signal and switch failure, equipment failure, sick passengers and unattended items.

“Increasing the carrying capacity of a legacy rail system by 20 to 40 percent in a three-year period is almost unheard of, but PATH is making that commitment,” PANYNJ Executive Director Rick Cotton told Metro Report. “We also recognize that the PATH system has been plagued by excessive delays. PATH’s six-point delay reduction program tackles this challenge head-on, with a commitment to deliver substantial and measurable improvements.”

Stanford Offers Its County $4.7 Billion for More Housing, Better Transit

The university whose graduates touched off the tech boom that has turned the San Francisco Bay Area into one of the nation’s costliest places to live is in a fight with its hometown (and its own students) over a planned expansion of its campus. In a move designed to help it win the fight, Stanford University has pledged to spend a total of $4.7 billion on new housing and improved transit, Bloomberg reports.

In connection with receiving county approval for plans to add 3.5 million square feet of office and classroom space around its Palo Alto campus, the university is offering to spend $1.1 billion on transportation improvements and other community benefits as part of the deal. The rest of the money would go towards building 2,172 workforce housing units, including 575 below-market-rate units up front.

County officials remain skeptical of Stanford’s expansion plans. County Supervisor Joe Smithian told Bloomberg, “Unfortunately, it continues to miss the mark in terms of providing full mitigation for the adverse impacts of 3.5 million square feet of development. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” For its part, Stanford spokesperson E.J. Miranda said in an emailed statement, “This offer clearly exceeds what can be achieved through the county’s current approach and includes billions of dollars in housing and traffic relief that Stanford wants to provide and our neighbors are asking for.”

First Metro Line Opens in Lanzhou

Finally, news of another underground river crossing. This time, it’s the Yellow River in China, beneath which Line 1 of Lanzhou’s new metro runs. The International Railway Journal reports that the line’s first section opened for revenue service on a trial basis June 23.

The east-west line, the first in the capital of Gansu province, runs underground for 25.9 km (16.1 miles) from Donggang in the east to Chenguanying in the west.

Metro Report International’s report on the opening notes that 19 of the line’s 20 stations are currently in service. Two of them will become interchange stations when Line 2’s first segment opens late next year. That segment will also run underground, for 9.1 km (5.7 miles), and have six stations. Also in the works is a 7.2-km (4.5-mile) extension of Line 1. The full five-line system will contain 227.6 km (141.4 miles) of route when completed.

Know of a project that should be featured in this column? Send a Tweet with links to @MarketStEl using the hashtag #newstarts.

Next City contributor Sandy Smith is the home and real estate editor at Philadelphia magazine. Over the years, his work has appeared in Hidden City Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local and regional publications. His interest in cities stretches back to his youth in Kansas City, and his career in journalism and media relations extends back that far as well.

Follow Sandy .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)