Christie Says He'd Build New NJ Transit Tunnel, Slams Amtrak for Delays

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie didn't much care for building a train tunnel under the Hudson River when it involved his state's money. But he says that if he's elected president, he would gladly use federal money to build one. 

In a pre-taped interview with ABC Radio's Larry Kudlow, teh Republican presidential candidate said he'd support building more rail crossings between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Christie famously killed the ARC Tunnel project in 2010. It would have doubled rail capacity beneath the Hudson, and have given NJ Transit control over a crossing, instead of forcing the transit agency to rely on Amtrak's tunnels. Christie said the heavily subsidized project would have put New Jersey taxpayers on the hook for any cost overruns.

Christie's comments come during a week which saw significant delays for NJ Transit rail riders due to an electrical issue in the current tunnels, which are 105 years-old. 

In a separate statement, Christie called on his attorney general to look into what New Jersey can do to ensure the $100 million it pays Amtrak annually to use the tunnels is being used properly. Christie blamed the delays on "indifference to New Jersey commuters and its abject neglect of the infrastructure that New Jersey and our entire region relies upon."

Amtrak CEO traveled from Washington D.C. to New York City's Penn Station to investigate the power problems and disputed that the rail company didn't care about Jersey riders.

"I’m not indifferent," he said. "If I was, I wouldn’t be here" He said state and federal governments needed to invest money in new Hudson River tunnels because the old ones were in such poor condition.

With the Associated Press