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Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to direct $2.2 billion in federal funds rejected by New Jersey for the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) tunnel project to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) East Side Access project.

About $35 billion is available through the FRA’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program to provide long-term loans for major transportation projects that don’t have to be repaid until 35 years after construction is completed, Schumer said in a prepared statement. New Jersey was slated to receive up to $2.2 billion in RRIF funding to move forward with the ARC tunnel until Gov. Chris Christie cancelled the project, he said.

The East Side Access project calls for creating a rail link from MTA Long Island Rail Road via the 63rd Street Tunnel to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The project would save commuters up to 40 minutes in travel time to Manhattan’s east side and free up much-needed capacity at Penn Station, but “is on trajectory to run out of funding at the end of 2011” because the remaining $2.2 billion to finish the project has yet to be secured, Schumer said.

“While we have collectively committed billions of dollars to this project, it’s vital that the MTA has the resources it needs to finish this critical mass transit project that has the potential to alleviate congestion for tens of thousands of commuters who use the Long Island Rail Road every day,” he said.

Schumer sent a letter to the FRA and U.S. Department of Transportation calling on the agencies to support a preliminary RRIF loan application from the MTA for the East Side Access project.

“Though the USDOT has never approved a financing package of this size under the RRIF program … the USDOT was willing to approve a loan of similar size for New Jersey to fund the ARC tunnel,” said Schumer.