East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project Draws Heat
Media, Elected Officials Call on Amtrak to Change Approach to Minimize Disruption
Amtrak, the newly designated lead agency for Penn Station redevelopment, is getting blow back in the media and from elected officials over its approach to repairing tunnels. To facilitate rehabilitation of the East River Tunnels the passenger railroad is curtailing some service and forcing the Long Island Rail Road to do likewise.
The four tubes of the East River Tunnels, which opened in 1910, comprise one of the busiest and most critical segments of the Northeast Corridor. Each day 450 Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak, and NJ Transit trains pass through them, with the LIRR the biggest user.
The tunnels are “the most important link in the commute of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders and a problem in this transit link creates a nightmarish domino effect for the entire system,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said in an Amtrak news release, Their importance brings heightened scrutiny to the project, which will repair damage from Superstorm Sandy and modernize this 115-year old infrastructure.
Sandy flooded the tunnels with 14 million gallons of water. This led to ongoing corrosion and more frequent signal failures. Two of the four tubes require complete restoration with the entire tunnel system demolished down to the concrete liner. The project entails repairing the tunnel lining, rebuilding the bench walls, relaying track, new fire and smoke detection systems, new signals and power systems, and new standpipe and drainage systems.
In an editorial, the New York Daily News called the service cuts “foolish and unneeded” and urged Amtrak to keep all tracks open and conduct repairs on weekends and overnight using a “repair in place” approach.
Additional work will be done above ground in Queens. This includes upgrading tunnel approaches and new signal houses, signal and traction power cables. Ventilation systems in Manhattan and Queens will be repaired, as well. Project cost is $1.6 billion with the federal government providing $1.26 billion under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. MTA has committed up to $432 million in funding.
In addition to bringing the tunnels back to a state of good repair, the project promises to increase safety and service reliability, reduce disruptions, and lower maintenance costs.
Major construction began April 28. While it is underway one of the four tubes will be out of service for extended periods. This could run three years or longer. Amtrak expects the first repaired tunnel will be put back into service in 2026 with the project completed in 2028.
With only three of the four tunnels in operation, Amtrak and the LIRR are reducing the number of trains that use them. The first move came last November when Amtrak discontinued the New York – Miami Silver Star. Its equipment was reassigned to the Floridian, a new train running between Chicago and Miami via Washington, DC.
Amtrak reduced the number of trains on the Empire Corridor from 13 to 10 each way effective April 28. The 8:35 am and 3:15 pm departures from New York were suspended along with the 12:10 pm and 6:10 pm eastbound departures from Albany-Rensselaer.
In addition, Amtrak is combining the New York – Toronto Maple Leaf and the New York – Montreal Adirondack between New York and Albany-Rensselaer for the project’s duration. This will lead to lengthy dwell times at Albany-Rensselaer. The westbound Adirondack will be held 55 minutes; the eastbound Maple Leaf 95 minutes. In addition, the LIRR expects to curtail 10 percent of its service to Penn Station.
The changes do not sit well with New York media or elected officials. In an editorial, the New York Daily News called the service cuts “foolish and unneeded” and urged Amtrak to keep all tracks open and conduct repairs on weekends and overnight using a “repair in place” approach.
Another concern is Amtrak’s history managing large capital projects. An article in Gothamist about the company being put in charge of Penn Station redevelopment and expansion noted the railroad’s “inspector general routinely finds examples of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement.”
According to New York University’s Alon Levy, delays due to poor planning are a common problem. “Its main problem is really bad project prioritization. It's over-focusing on things that don't have any tangible frequency or speed benefits to passengers,” he said. “It duct tapes failing pieces of infrastructure together instead of having any clear vision.”
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul, a Democrat, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a potential 2026 Republican challenger, are both speaking out against tunnel closures.
The governor urged Amtrak to revise construction plans and adapt the “repair in place” approach. Blakeman asked U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to intervene to prevent service disruptions that “will ripple throughout the regional economy, impacting businesses, families, and communities.”
Bruce Becker, communications director for the Empire State Passenger Association, warned the service reductions could mean passengers will encounter more sold out trains, especially during peak travel periods. His group hopes “Amtrak will continue to look at alternatives” and adjust schedules after construction gets underway and its impact on ridership is felt.
Having one of the four tunnels not in use increases the risk of a major service disruption. “With one of four tunnels out of service for reconstruction, losing access to a second tunnel due to an infrastructure failure would be catastrophic.” Long Island Rail Road President Robert Free wrote in an April 8 letter to Amtrak. “A ‘minor’ issue that could have been mitigated with all four tunnels in service could very quickly result in suspension of service.”
In 2021, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-Bronx, introduced legislation in Congress that would have required Amtrak to use the “repair in place” method to repair the tunnels. He noted that Amtrak project delays were slowing completion of MTA projects including LIRR East Side Access and Metro North Penn Station Access.
The previous year, at the urging of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, MTA used this approach to rehabilitate the 14th Street Tunnel used by New York City Transit’s L train (subway). An expert panel that included the deans of the Columbia University and Cornell University engineering schools reviewed the project and concluded “repair in place” could work. The project was finished six months ahead of schedule and $100 million under budget.
Repair in place restricts construction to late night hours and weekends, when fewer trains are running. One track is kept in service while the other is being repaired. The methodology has its pros and cons. On one hand, it minimizes disruptions and is faster and more cost-effective. On the other, the work has shorter lifespans, may not address underlying issues, and increases the risk of future problems.
Commenting on which approach is correct for this project is above my pay grade. However, you don’t need a PhD in civil engineering to know that if you have to strip a tunnel down to its liner it cannot be put back into service in time for rush hour.
The issue, then, is whether Amtrak is doing enough to mitigate service disruptions that will affect its passengers and the LIRR, which runs many times more trains. Amtrak should be able to reroute some Empire Corridor trains to Grand Central Terminal, as it did in 2018 due to construction in Penn Station. In addition, the LIRR could run more trains to Grand Central Madison, Atlantic Terminal (Downtown Brooklyn), and Hunterspoint Avenue (Long Island City).
Bringing an antiquated system up to 21st Century standards is not for the faint of heart.