Amtrak’s plan to bring 220 mile per hour trains to the northeast corridor has gotten more press than the unglamorous work of adding two New York-New Jersey train tunnels, but with current facilities running at 95% capacity, the nation must do something about one of its most congested transit bottlenecks.*

While the capacity problem itself demonstrates the immediate need for new trans-Hudson rail tunnels, New York Senator Chuck Schumer has said that the issue is now more pressing than the region had thought, since engineers have found that the soon-to-be-under-construction Hudson Yards site is an ideal place for tunnel infrastructure. With construction on Hudson Yards expected to begin this year, Schumer’s tone was urgent: “If we do not secure the tunnel space under the Hudson Yards now, this project could disappear forever,” he said at a conference on Friday.

Since the cancellation of Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) in late 2010, the “Gateway” tunnel proposal has emerged as the leading alternative project to expand tunnel capacity and has received $15 million in funds (Schumer has said that $20 million more is in the pipeline). According to the Wall Street Journal’s Heather Haddon, there is a plan to get tunnel space at Hudson Yards—which is emerging from conversations between New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, Senator Schumer, Hudson Yards developer Related Companies, and the Long Island Rail Road (who owns a piece of the necessary right of way)—but “a total of $120 million needs to be committed to the project for the agreements to go through.”

With transit service deteriorating for New Jersey commuters and this week’s PATH fare hike, the case for improved New York-New Jersey transit commutes couldn’t be clearer. Gateway appears to be the region’s best shot in the long term—it could increase NJ Transit’s trans-Hudson capacity by 65% and allow significant Acela expansion. But Gateway is not a short-term solution to commuters’ immediate transit woes. There is ample room, for example, to improve trans-Hudson bus service, which transports more people daily across the Hudson than commuter rail.  A Tri-State report on improving trans-Hudson bus service [pdf] recommended the creation of a westbound exclusive bus lane in the Lincoln Tunnel during the evening rush hour and additional, properly regulated on-street bus parking around the Port Authority Bus Terminal and elsewhere in the city. Improvements such as these will offer bus riders short-term relief (and help reduce the percentage of buses, 12%, that leave Manhattan’s hectic PABT late) while expanded rail tunnel capacity is explored.

Second Avenue Sagas’ Ben Kabak has a couple of insights about this news that provide reasons for optimism about the sorely needed Gateway project. First, Senator Schumer has enough clout in Washington for his endorsement of the project to mean something. Second, Senator Schumer’s support means that there is finally a New York politician vocally pushing for improved trans-Hudson capacity. With a project of such regional importance, more elected officials should voice their support soon.

*improving trans-Hudson capacity is actually part of Amtrak’s high speed rail plan