Amtrak rejects criticism of plan to close 2 East River Tunnels for repairs
One of the East River Tunnels that flooded during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Credit: MTA
Amtrak is fighting back against criticism over its plan to keep one of the four East River Tunnels linking to Penn Station out of service for three years, saying lawmakers and MTA officials have been spreading "misinformation and misleading facts" about the forthcoming project.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday, Amtrak president Roger Harris defended the agency’s $1.6 billion effort to repair Superstorm Sandy damage in two of the four East River Tunnels. The work, which recently began after years of delays, will entail shutting down each of the two targeted tunnels for a year and a half at a time.
Hochul, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman have all criticized the strategy and encouraged Amtrak to carry out the repairs on nights and weekends — allowing the tunnels to stay in service during the critical weekday rush hours.
In an interview Friday, Amtrak executive vice president Laura Mason said, if forced to limit the work to nights and weekends, Amtrak would "do the best we could, but it would cost a lot more," and potentially take years longer to complete. "You are talking about triple, quadruple the amount of time it would take," Mason said.
In his letter, Harris called the objections to Amtrak’s plan "surprising," given how closely Amtrak has worked with state and MTA officials, including at the Long Island Rail Road, to come up with the strategy.
"This recent barrage of media coverage, which includes misinformation and misleading facts, some of which are attributed to comments by NY State and the MTA are not constructive and only erodes confidence in public agencies to deliver critical infrastructure projects," Harris wrote. "Amtrak remains committed to delivering this necessary project safely and on schedule."
Hochul's office, in a statement Friday, said that the project has already resulted in Amtrak cutting service to its own customers traveling between New York City and Albany. That track record calls "into question the outlook for reliable service throughout the duration of the project."
Although MTA officials and Hochul have urged Amtrak to use the same Sandy repair method that was used in a Brooklyn subway tunnel project, which allowed the tunnel to stay in service, Harris said the differences between that project and this one "are substantial."
"Unlike the MTA’s Canarsie Tunnel project, this effort will not patch and monitor for degradation," Harris wrote. "It will fully replace all tunnel systems ... and extend tunnel life by another one hundred years."
Long Island Rail Road president Robert Free has said operating the same number of LIRR trains with one fewer tunnel could worsen the impacts of even minor issues and potentially lead to a full suspension of LIRR service in some circumstances.
In an interview Friday, Free noted that on Wednesday, a track fire near Penn Station, which is owned and operated by Amtrak, caused the LIRR to temporarily lose access to the two tunnels not being repaired in the forthcoming project.
"What happened yesterday just really played out my concerns," Free said.
Amtrak is fighting back against criticism over its plan to keep one of the four East River Tunnels linking to Penn Station out of service for three years, saying lawmakers and MTA officials have been spreading "misinformation and misleading facts" about the forthcoming project.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday, Amtrak president Roger Harris defended the agency’s $1.6 billion effort to repair Superstorm Sandy damage in two of the four East River Tunnels. The work, which recently began after years of delays, will entail shutting down each of the two targeted tunnels for a year and a half at a time.
Hochul, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman have all criticized the strategy and encouraged Amtrak to carry out the repairs on nights and weekends — allowing the tunnels to stay in service during the critical weekday rush hours.
In an interview Friday, Amtrak executive vice president Laura Mason said, if forced to limit the work to nights and weekends, Amtrak would "do the best we could, but it would cost a lot more," and potentially take years longer to complete. "You are talking about triple, quadruple the amount of time it would take," Mason said.
In his letter, Harris called the objections to Amtrak’s plan "surprising," given how closely Amtrak has worked with state and MTA officials, including at the Long Island Rail Road, to come up with the strategy.
"This recent barrage of media coverage, which includes misinformation and misleading facts, some of which are attributed to comments by NY State and the MTA are not constructive and only erodes confidence in public agencies to deliver critical infrastructure projects," Harris wrote. "Amtrak remains committed to delivering this necessary project safely and on schedule."
Hochul's office, in a statement Friday, said that the project has already resulted in Amtrak cutting service to its own customers traveling between New York City and Albany. That track record calls "into question the outlook for reliable service throughout the duration of the project."
Although MTA officials and Hochul have urged Amtrak to use the same Sandy repair method that was used in a Brooklyn subway tunnel project, which allowed the tunnel to stay in service, Harris said the differences between that project and this one "are substantial."
"Unlike the MTA’s Canarsie Tunnel project, this effort will not patch and monitor for degradation," Harris wrote. "It will fully replace all tunnel systems ... and extend tunnel life by another one hundred years."
Long Island Rail Road president Robert Free has said operating the same number of LIRR trains with one fewer tunnel could worsen the impacts of even minor issues and potentially lead to a full suspension of LIRR service in some circumstances.
In an interview Friday, Free noted that on Wednesday, a track fire near Penn Station, which is owned and operated by Amtrak, caused the LIRR to temporarily lose access to the two tunnels not being repaired in the forthcoming project.
"What happened yesterday just really played out my concerns," Free said.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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