After weeks of conflict between Amtrak and the Long Island Raid Road (LIRR), a full shutdown of an East River rail tunnel will begin Friday night as part of a three-year rehabilitation project.
Officials from Amtrak and the LIRR have been disagreeing on the logistics surrounding the extensive repair job that will take place in the tunnel tubes that both train lines use. Amtrak has insisted that a full shutdown of two key tubes in the East River tunnel is necessary to conduct critical infrastructure repairs, much of which includes damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
LIRR leadership, however, has maintained that a full shutdown, which would last three years, could result in “catastrophic” service disruptions for LIRR trains, which rely on the East River tubes to get to Penn Station. The officials indicated the work could be done with a partial tunnel closure.
But after a sit-down meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul the day before the prolonged work is set to begin, Amtrak’s plan came out on top, but not without some caveats.
“Amtrak has agreed to provide enhanced inspections, additional shift crews, and the development of an operational response plan to help mitigate potential impact on commuters throughout the duration of the project,” Hochul said. “While I continue to believe this work could be accomplished without a full shutdown, I understand the importance of moving this project forward.”
Breaking down the Amtrak project
The East River tunnel has four rail tubes. The overhaul will involve a full back-to-back shutdown of two of the tubes, which will remain in place for about 13 months each. The first one, Line 2, will be taken completely out of service starting May 23, while the other track, Line 1, will be used solely by Amtrak and NJ Transit.
In a nutshell, two of the four tubes crossing the East River into Penn Station will be impacted, meaning that LIRR and Amtrak will need to share the two remaining active tunnels most of the time.
The MTA has maintained that this will result in service disruptions for its 125,000 daily LIRR riders.
Hochul explained that Amtrak will incorporate the experience of the first shutdown, including the use of third-party consultants, to “ensure the best approach” to the second shutdown.
Amtrak officials told amNewYork that they reassured Hochul and the MTA that they are “committed to” minimizing impacts to passengers throughout the project.
“This includes our detailed plan to provide around-the-clock engineering coverage during the outage, more frequent inspections as track access time permits, strategically positioned rescue equipment, and more,” a spokesperson for Amtrak said. “With LIRR and NJ Transit, we will closely monitor service during construction and make modifications to the plan, if needed, to ensure reliability of passenger service while fixing this critical infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Amtrak workers conducted a service test of the tube closure Thursday morning to ensure that there were no issues with the train lines’ service.
“It is important to all of us that this project is a success so that all passengers, including Long Island and upstate New York residents and travelers, continue to have strong, reliable, on-time service now and in the future,” the Amtrak spokesperson said.
