[2][3]: 28 Various plans to build a physical link across the Hudson River were discussed as early as the 1870s, and both tunnel and bridge projects were considered by the railroads and government officials.

[4]: 200  A tunnel project for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M), a rapid transit line, began in 1874, and encountered serious engineering, financial and legal obstacles.

[5] (Work on the H&M tunneling project, later known as the Uptown Hudson Tubes, continued intermittently but was not completed until 1906;[6] it was opened to passenger trains in 1908.

[7]) The technology of tunnel-building was still primitive and risky in the 1880s, and this gave impetus to a major bridge design proposal promoted by engineer Gustav Lindenthal.

[3]: 29  Although Congress granted Lindenthal's company a charter in 1890 for construction of a bridge, the huge $27 million project cost would have to be shared by several railroads.

[8]: 20 [4]: 200  Some foundation masonry was laid on the Hoboken side in 1895, but the PRR was unsuccessful in getting other companies to share in the expenses, and the bridge project was abandoned.

The PRR and LIRR lines would converge at New York Penn Station, an expansive Beaux-Arts edifice between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan.

[17][18] As of 2021, there are revived plans to renovate and expand the Meadows and North River divisions as part of the Gateway Program.

The Meadows Division project built a new, approximately 5-mile (8.0 km) route from the PRR main line at Harrison, New Jersey, northeast to the west end of the new tunnels.

This involved constructing a new station at Harrison, Manhattan Transfer, along with a rail yard, to provide for changing between steam and electric locomotives.

[27] By the time construction was complete, the total project cost for the station and associated tunnels was $114 million (equivalent to $2.7 billion in 2023[28]), according to an Interstate Commerce Commission report.

New Haven trains began running through the East River Tunnels, serving Penn Station, in 1917 after the Hell Gate Bridge opened.

[3]: 29  It was later changed to 11,000V alternating-current overhead catenary when electrification of PRR's mainline was extended to Washington, D.C., in the early 1930s.

[30] In New Jersey the third rail ended at Manhattan Transfer, where all trains stopped to change steam and electric engines.

[3]: 52  Two electrical substations were built for the project: one in Harrison, New Jersey, and the other in Long Island City, New York.

[35] The Tunnel Extension is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor; New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road use the western and eastern sections, respectively, to reach New York Penn Station.