LIRR president warns riders as Amtrak's East River Tunnel shutdown approaches

CBS News

16-05-2025

The Long Island Rail Road is warning riders to prepare for possible service disruptions next week when Amtrak starts a years-long project to fix the East River Tunnels.
Amtrak's major tunnel repair project begins on May 23, when sections of the tunnels will be closed in phases over three years.
Amtrak to begin major repairs to East River Tunnels
Amtrak says the $1.6 billion project aims to repair long-standing damage from Superstorm Sandy that can no longer be put off.
"They are committed to delivering a quality end product and they've put in a lot of time and effort in making sure that the people who ride on our service get the experience that they deserve," an Amtrak official said.
CBS News New York got a rare look inside the tunnels, which revealed cracked ceilings, erosion and water from the East River flowing onto the tracks.
LIRR riders say their daily commutes are already crowded and stressful, and they fear the project will make things worse.
"When they do these things, there's always an issue," Mike Stella said.
Long Island Rail Road president warns tunnel shutdown will cause problems
LIRR President Robert Free said closing two of the four tunnels used by Amtrak, LIRR and NJ Transit leaves little room for service interruptions in the other tunnels.
"We've spoken to Amtrak many times over the years, expressing our concerns over this outage, expressing that there are other ways to do this," he said.
Just last week, a separate tunnel issue caused widespread delays, which some see as a preview of what's to come.
"Trains were horrific and there definitely were delays. And getting out to Long Island, I don't need any more delays," another rider said.
"As we move ever closer to this potential catastrophic outage that's about to happen, and they are getting questions from customers, what would they do in the event? There's a service?" Free said.
Free said the LIRR proposed alternatives, including weekend or overnight work, but Amtrak said the full shutdown is necessary.
In a statement, Amtrak said a "rehab in place" plan, like the one used for the L train, isn't feasible in this situation. The damage is too expensive and the project is intended to renew the tunnel's lifespan another 100 years, not just patch it temporarily, Amtrak said.