The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority’s unease with New York City’s proposal to build a cross-harbor rail freight tunnel has led it to study other options. One analysis recently completed for NJTPA looks at train ferries, which are different than rail-car barges. NJTPA contracted for the analysis to supplement its comments on the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s cross-harbor tunnel draft environmental impact statement.

The TPA study says rail ferries are more advanced and much higher capacity than the rail-car float system analyzed by NYC EDC in the tunnel EIS. EDC dismisses the railcar float system as an alternative because it will remove only 23,100 truck trips annually from Hudson River crossings, while the single tunnel option would eliminate 521,100 trucks trips per year.

NJ TPA’s study points to rail ferry systems in operation around the world which could meet the region’s freight needs. The study finds that just two train ferries, each costing about $75 million, with total annual operating costs of $30.5 million, could carry the same number of trains as the EDC’s single tunnel proposal. In contrast, TPA says the single tunnel proposal would cost eight times as much per railcar carried as the two-ferry system.

The report, by TransTech, Inc., is short and appears not to have details about comparative transport times, but claims the ferry system would move as many trains per day as a single tunnel.

The study is vague about the land-side infrastructure needed to accommodate the big boats.