Amtrak is in talks with NJ Transit to revive a plan for a commuter rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey, a spokesman for the national railroad said yesterday.

“We are in preliminary discussions,” Cliff Cole said. “We are discussing options that would be mutually beneficial. We have been talking . . . ever since the program was put in jeopardy.”

The $8.7 billion tunnel under the Hudson River, which would have been America’s largest public-works project, was canceled Oct. 27 by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said the state could not afford likely cost overruns.