Wednesday, March 29, 2023
North-JerseyNews.com
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
North-JerseyNews.com
No Result
View All Result
Home Washington Political Breaking News

Amtrak Plan for $30B Gateway Project Needs More Specifics: Report

IG Urges Steps to Ensure Project Stays on Time, on Budget, on Track

Liz Grover by Liz Grover
February 10, 2022
in Washington Political Breaking News
0 0
1
North-JerseyNews.com
0
SHARES
83
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Amtrak needs to beef up its plan for managing the Gateway transportation project to keep the project from going off the rails and over budget, the company’s inspector general said in a Feb. 8 report.

The $30 billion Gateway Tunnel Project is a sweeping endeavor with massive implications for North Jersey commuters. Amtrak is partnering with New Jersey and New York states to upgrade and replace essential rail infrastructure between Newark and Penn Station in New York City by 2035.

Projects under the Gateway umbrella include replacing the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, constructing a new tunnel under the Hudson River, and rehabilitating the existing North River Tunnel.

More Defined Plans Needed

Amtrak issued a project management plan for Gateway in August 2021, but the IG found it lacking.North-JerseyNews.com

“[T]he plan does not identify or describe the processes the company will use to develop and execute the program so they are repeatable and consistent across projects,” the company’s IG said in the report. “Without such defined processes, the company risks reacting to issues and demands as they arise instead of conducting its work in a disciplined manner to help ensure that it meets its commitments on time, in scope, and in budget.”

Three Challenges

Amtrak’s IG said the company needs to develop “a thorough program management framework” that describes the processes its departments will follow and the tools they will use to manage the program now and in the future.

“Given the enormity of the company’s commitments over the next decade and the fact that major projects are already underway, the company has an opportunity now to build this framework to better prepare itself to succeed with the program,” the IG said.

Absent this type of framework, the IG report outlined three challenges Amtrak faces on Gateway.

  1. “The program team has been overtasked” because Amtrak has not assessed what resources the team and departments supporting the project need to manage current and future Gateway-related work.
  2. Amtrak has not determined how it will collect and provide “comprehensive and consolidated information on the program’s overall status—including budget and schedule—to all internal stakeholders with responsibilities for Gateway.”
  3. Amtrak has assessed the risks to individual projects in coordination with its Gateway partners, but “it has not assessed the broader program-wide risks it may face” managing its Gateway commitments, such as potential impacts to other company acquisitions or projects.

Planning Gaps

The IG offered specific examples of gaps in Amtrak’s Gateway program management plan, including finding “the company provided generic descriptions of participating departments instead of detailed plans identifying and describing how it will perform its work.”

For example, the Amtrak team described a process to the IG that it is using the forecast, track, update, and control program costs

“The team, however, has not captured this process or referred to existing company policy, if applicable, in the program management plan to ensure that the team has a consistent approach for managing costs across the program. Instead, it contains only a description of the Finance department,” the report said.

Schedule Management Lacking

In another example, the IG said Amtrak’s Gateway program management plan does not lay out the process the team will use to develop the master schedule or the frequency and method by which it will be updated.

“Schedule management will help the company meet timelines set out in contractual agreements. Instead, the plan states that the company is developing a master schedule,” the IG said.

The IG additionally faulted Amtrak for it’s Gateway plan not containing “a quality management section identifying the company’s quality standards—such as whether projects are meeting engineering specifications the company requires, and how the company will ensure that those standards are met across the program.”

Amtrak Response

Amtrak Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery Laura Mason responded to the IG’s recommendations in a Jan. 21 letter that appears in the report. Mason’s letter detailed steps the company is taking to address the IG’s concerns.

Mason said the company will bring in a risk management consultant and Amtrak is committed to develop a written communication management plan—which will include standardized reports—to better advise internal stakeholders of project developments.

Moreover, Amtrak committed to develop an organizational chart for Gateway and develop a hiring plan to fill vacant and newly proposed positions. Mason additionally pledged to provide a revised program management plan addressing a number of the IG’s concerns.

The long-delayed Gateway project got a boost in late January when the Federal Transit Administration raised its rating of the project, making it eligible for federal funding through the Capital Investment Grants program for the building of two rail tubes under the Hudson River.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags: AmtrakAmtrak Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery Laura MasonAmtrak inspector generalCapital Investment Grants ProgramGatewayGateway ProjectGateway Rail TunnelGateway Tunnel ProjectHudson River rail tunnelInfrastructurelatest political news from New Jerseylatest political news from Washingtonlatest political news in washingtonlatest washington political newsnew jerseyNew Jersey Local Newsnew jersey political newsNJ political newsNorth JerseyNorth Jersey CommutersNorth Jersey NewsPolitical Newspolitical news from washington dcPolitical News NJPortal North BridgeTrainstransportationwashington dc political newswashington dc political news todayWashington Political News
Previous Post

North-JerseyNews.com Roundup for Feb. 10, 2022

Next Post

Republicans Want School Mask Mandate to End Sooner than March 7

Next Post
North-JerseyNews.com

Republicans Want School Mask Mandate to End Sooner than March 7

Comments 1

  1. rob kwiatk says:
    1 year ago

    YES! This was an very Good prognosis, but still is so Laughable; Hahaha!! This is what they do & how it’s purposely design for’n to promote Business as usual, that’s all!! L00KY; The MTA 0perates with 3 set’s 0f books, Designed to show & propel agendas they’re striving to obtain!! AND; There’s nothing YOU can do about that!! And that’s the fact Jack!! AND; That’s the rest 0f the story, like it or’n not!!//

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

support-Local

Recent Post

North-JerseyNews.com

Almost Half of Democrats Open to Replacing Biden in 2024

by James Hickey
March 28, 2023
1

North-JerseyNews.com

Pascrell Reintroduces Crime Gun Tracing Bill

by Nathan Resso
March 28, 2023
0

North-JerseyNews.com

North-JerseyNews.com Roundup for March 28, 2023: AG Takes Over Paterson Police Force

by North-JerseyNews.com
March 28, 2023
0

Popular

North-JerseyNews.com

Almost Half of Democrats Open to Replacing Biden in 2024

by James Hickey
2023/03/28
1

North-JerseyNews.com

Pascrell Reintroduces Crime Gun Tracing Bill

by Nathan Resso
2023/03/28
0

North-JerseyNews.com

North-JerseyNews.com Roundup for March 28, 2023: AG Takes Over Paterson Police Force

by North-JerseyNews.com
2023/03/28
0

Subscribe now

Join 100,000+ other subscribers

Select list(s) to subscribe to

ss-tp
2107.JG.FightForJersey

North-JerseyNews.com

When it comes to breaking news North Jersey, North Jersey local news or live news North Jersey, We all look for a reliable source that can give us authentic North Jersey news or local Jersey news.

© Copyright 2021 North-JerseyNews.com

Design and Developed By MOZWEBMEDIA

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Washington
  • Trenton
  • County
  • Court
  • Roundup
  • Opinion
  • Search
  • Donation

© Copyright 2021 North-JerseyNews.com
Design and Developed By MOZWEBMEDIA

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Finance-Currency-Financial-World-Dollar-Funds-634901

Add Your Heading Text Here

Pop-up Design 1 (1)

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: