NYC Mayor Eric Adams begs feds to stop Amtrak's planned 3-year East River Tunnel closure: ‘Refused to listen to reason'
All aboard the blame train!
Mayor Eric Adams jumped into the tunnel tug-of-war — blasting Amtrak's East River shutdown plan and demanding feds step in before commuters are left stranded and steaming.
In a fiery letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Monday, Adams called Amtrak's proposal to shutdown a train tunnel from Queens to Manhattan — which was approved by the MTA — a 'misstep' that could derail service for millions of commuters and leave the entire system exposed to 'shutdown risks' during the three-year project.
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'Amtrak has refused to listen to reason,' Hizzoner fumed, pointing out Amtrak is ignoring a more sensible fix to do the work on nights and weekends instead of gutting daytime capacity, which Adams said 'makes no sense whatsoever.'
4 During the three-year $1.6 billion project, workers will rehabilitate two tunnels that run from Queens into Manhattan. Amtrak plans to fully close the first tunnel May 9.
Mike Guillen/NY Post Design
Adams demanded federal intervention before the tunnel doors slam shut this Friday. A spokesperson for the US Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to The Post on Tuesday.
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The mayor joins a growing chorus of politicians — including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — all begging Amtrak to hit the brakes on the plan over concerns it will force the MTA, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains to operate on fewer tracks, leading to train delays.
Adams also argued Amtrak's full-speed-ahead plan could leave Queens and Long Island riders stranded.
4 Passengers are worried there will be train delays throughout the three-year reconstruction project.
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4 Adams wants the federal government to intervene.
Paul Martinka
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'Instead of doing the logical, least disruptive thing — keeping one tunnel open during the day, including rush hours, and doing repairs over time, at night and on weekends — Amtrak has decided to close that one tunnel and start repairs from scratch, immediately causing significant service limitations and potentially jeopardizing train service altogether,' Adams said.
And Adams hit back at claims from Amtrak President Roger Harris that the century-old tubes beneath the East River are so damaged from 2012's Superstorm Sandy that a full closure is necessary. Adams said engineers at London Bridge Associates confirmed a phased approach is possible for the $1.6 billion East River Tunnel rehabilitation — though more costly.
Adams did not say what the increased costs would be in his letter.
A spokesperson for Amtrak did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Post Tuesday, but Harris last week accused the MTA and Gov. Hochul of spinning the story by blaming Amtrak for the disastrous service plan — even though the MTA approved the plan in October 2023.
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4 Amtrak President Roger Harris said fully closing the East River tunnel is necessary so workers can reconstruct power, signal, track and structural systems.
Amtrak
The MTA Board 'surprised' Amtrak execs by passing a resolution condemning its continuous outage plan at a board meeting last Wednesday — especially since MTA employees had been closely working with Amtrak staffers on the plan all along, an Amtrak engineer told The Post after the resolution was passed.
Amtrak will only run 10 round trips from Penn Station to Albany instead of the usual 12 during the closures.
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