Amtrak reducing New York to Albany service for East River Tunnel repairs

Amtrak service between Penn Station and Albany will be reduced beginning Monday to allow for long-planned repairs to the East River Tunnel.

Ten southbound trains and 10 northbound trains will run between Albany and New York City each day; trains 235 and 238 will be suspended during the construction project, according to an Amtrak announcement in February, when the new start date for the repairs was announced.

Amtrak will add a car to 28 trains each week running to and from Albany and Niagara Falls, in anticipation of more riders.

The construction project was originally planned for 2019 but was delayed until after the completion of Grand Central Madison, Newsday previously reported. in part to ease the impact on Long Island Rail Road riders. More than 800 trains cross through the tunnel every day, including nearly 600 LIRR trains.

Two of the four "tubes" in the tunnel, which opened 115 years ago, were damaged when they were flooded up to their ceilings during Superstorm Sandy. Since then, trains were sometimes delayed or canceled because of damaged signal equipment and even concrete falling onto the tracks.

Each of the damaged tubes will be largely demolished and rebuilt, one at a time to minimize disruption. The new tubes will include new signals as well as smoke detection systems.

In a statement in February, Amtrak president Roger Harris said, "these significant upgrades will modernize critical infrastructure and ensure long-term improvements to the Empire Service and other Amtrak and commuter services for a better customer experience and more reliable trip."

An Amtrak spokesperson could not be reached for comment Sunday.

The project is expected to cost $1.6 billion, with nearly all of it — $1.3 billion — funded by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The work is expected to continue for several years.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson confirmed there will be no changes to LIRR service on Monday as a result of the repairs.