CH2M to Serve on Program Management Consultant Team to Amtrak for Gateway Program

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Sep 20, 2016, 08:49 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), operating intercity passenger rail services in 46 states and the District of Columbia, has selected the team of Hill International and CH2M to provide program management support services for the transformational Gateway Program in the Northeast Corridor. The firms will assist Amtrak as it works with its partners including the U.S. Department of Transportation, NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the states of New York and New Jersey to implement the Gateway Program.

Amtrak has selected the team of Hill International and CH2M to provide program management support services for the transformational Gateway Program in the Northeast Corridor. Helping to move the community forward, the program will increase track, tunnel, bridge and station capacity, eventually creating four mainline tracks between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station in New York City, including a new, two-track tunnel under the Hudson River.

The Gateway Program is a proposed set of strategic rail infrastructure improvements designed to enhance the health and quality of life in the region by improving current services and creating new capacity that will double passenger trains running under the Hudson River. Helping to move the community forward, the program will increase track, tunnel, bridge and station capacity, eventually creating four mainline tracks between Newark, New Jersey and Penn Station in New York City, including a new, two-track tunnel under the Hudson River.

"This is a great win for our firms and shows that Hill International and CH2M bring North America's strongest team of implementation strategy and program management professionals to Amtrak," said CH2M's Director of Transit & Rail, Tom Donahue. "We understand the urgency for this program to meet the critical needs of the Northeast Corridor, and we look forward to working collaboratively with Amtrak to facilitate and optimize its passenger services."

The program also includes updates to, and modernization of, existing infrastructure, such as the electrical system that supplies power to the roughly 450 weekday trains using this segment of the Northeast Corridor, and rebuilding and replacing the damaged components of the existing, century-old North River Tunnel, which was inundated with seawater during Superstorm Sandy. By eliminating the bottleneck in New York and creating additional tunnel, track and station capacity in the most congested segment of the Northeast Corridor, the Gateway Program will provide greater levels of service, increased redundancy, added reliability for shared operations and additional capacity for the future increases in commuter and intercity rail service.

CH2M is the No. 2 Program Management firm as ranked by Engineering News-Record. With a reputation for delivery excellence, the company is providing program management and technical advisory services on some of the largest transit and rail projects in the world, including the Metrolinx Regional Express Rail Program in Toronto, London's Crossrail, the King Abdulaziz Project for Public Transport in Riyadh and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail project in Malaysia.

CH2M brings extensive knowledge of Amtrak policies and procedures gained on numerous projects, including station improvements to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and engineering support for 70 new ACS-64 Locomotives for the Northeast Corridor and 130 long distance coaches for their national network.

About CH2M

CH2M leads the professional services industry delivering sustainable solutions benefiting societal, environmental and economic outcomes with the development of infrastructure and industry. In this way, CH2Mers make a positive difference providing consulting, design, engineering and management services for clients in water; environment and nuclear; transportation; energy and industrial markets, from iconic infrastructure to global programs like the Olympic Games. Ranked among the World's Most Ethical Companies and top firms in environmental consulting and program management, CH2M in 2016 became the first professional services firm honored with the World Environment Center Gold Medal Award for efforts advancing sustainable development. Connect with CH2M at www.ch2m.com; LinkedIn; Twitter; and Facebook.