Alas for the Poughkeepsie Bridge. Another victim of Conrail neglect (federal government). Of course, the federal government since the end of WWII regulated away the competitiveness of the railroads . . . and the Staggers Act helped some, but not enough to fend off the newer regulations that are imposed every time there's the slightest hint of a rail accident.
A commuter rail connector is a good idea, but what they really need is a freight rail connector permitting CSX to link their West Hudson and East Hudson divisions via Metro North. With the old Poughkeepsie rail bridge usable only as a hiking trail, this would permit the two divisions to communicate with each other south of the Selkirk bridge. CSX would pay for their share of the link, and that would lower the cost of the rail component of the bridge
The idea of bringing Norfolk Southern’s ex-Erie into the game would create another partner that would further lower the cost of the bridge. This would provide a link to the NS/Pan American partnership in northern Massachusetts via trackage rights on CSX on either side of the Hudson. It would kill a whole flock of birds with one stone.