Latest news with #SuperstormSandy
Time Out
6 days ago
- Time Out
The East River Tunnel shutdown is going to mess up your LIRR commute—here's what to know
Your LIRR commute just got a lot more complicated. As of Friday, May 23, Amtrak officially began a three-year, $1.6 billion rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel, a project that has already set the stage for delays, congestion and general commuter chaos. The work involves a full closure of two of the four century-old tubes beneath the East River, which serve as critical infrastructure for Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Long Island Rail Road. And while Amtrak insists the full gut renovation is necessary to fix lingering damage from Superstorm Sandy, LIRR officials and Governor Kathy Hochul argued for a less disruptive approach. For months, state leaders pushed for a 'repair-in-place' plan, similar to the L train fix, which would have kept daytime schedules intact. But Amtrak held firm, citing safety concerns and the need to fully replace power, signal, track and fire-safety systems to meet modern standards. They maintain that patchwork repairs aren't feasible in a high-speed, high-voltage environment like this. Line 2 was taken completely out of service Friday night and will remain offline for 13 months. After that, Line 1 will shut down for another extended stretch. During this time, Amtrak and NJ Transit will prioritize the two remaining tubes, forcing the LIRR to share limited tunnel space and warning of possible schedule disruptions for its 125,000 daily riders. LIRR leadership previously called a full shutdown 'catastrophic,' as reported by the New York Daily News. Amtrak has promised to minimize the pain with extra inspections, more crews and emergency locomotives on standby. Still, the fallout is already being felt. 'With the onset of the spring and summer travel seasons, it's imperative that New Yorkers have convenient and reliable passenger rail service to help them get where they want and need to go,' said New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez. 'We want to continue to work with Amtrak to find a way to do this work without inflicting unnecessary burdens on New Yorkers.' Despite the outcry, the project is underway—and your commute may never look the same until 2028. So if your train feels more packed or your schedule is off this week, now you know why. Brace for delays, grab a good book and maybe leave a few minutes earlier—just in case.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amtrak set to close one East River tube Friday night, starting 2.5 years of repairs
Federal railway Amtrak is set to shut down one of the four tubes of the East River Tunnel starting Friday night, kicking off a larger overhaul that has faced opposition from the MTA, Gov. Hochul and an unlikely consortium of local elected officials. The single tube closure, slated to last 10 days, is the first step in a two-and-a-half year repair project that will reduce the train capacity of the subterranean structure by 25%. The tunnel is used daily by Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit trains. 'While I continue to believe this work could be accomplished without a full shutdown, I understand the importance of moving this project forward,' Hochul said in a statement following a meeting with Amtrak and Metropolitan Transportation Authority leadership Thursday. '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,' she added. The East River Tunnel, owned by Amtrak and first opened in 1910, consists of four tubes linking Manhattan and Queens. Two of the tubes — Nos. 3 and 4 — primarily serve the LIRR, the main user of the tunnel, allowing its service to Penn Station. The other two tubes — Nos. 1 and 2 — are used by Amtrak for service on the Northeast Corridor, and by NJ Transit for storage of commuter trains in Queens' Sunnyside Yard. Tubes 1 and 2 were inundated with salt water during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Amtrak has said the resulting corrosion of wires has played havoc with signaling and traction power in the tubes over the past decade. Railway officials also point to spalling concrete along the tunnel benchwall — the structure through which the tunnel's high-voltage power lines run — that they say has been caused by the saltwater exposure. On a recent press tour of Tube 2, Amtrak officials highlighted a slew of issues in the tunnel — from large gaps where the benchwall had crumbled to corrosion caused by groundwater incursion unrelated to Sandy. Only a full shutdown of each tube, the officials said, would allow work crews to rebuild the benchwalls, replace all the wiring and make tweaks to the trackbed to improve drainage. 'The reliability of these tunnels is not going to get any better,' Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz told reporters last week. 'These tunnels are aged, they've been damaged by Superstorm Sandy, and they are in urgent need of repair.' 'The longer we delay this work, the more we risk the chance of service disruptions that are not acceptable to anybody,' he added. After Amtrak closes Tube No. 1 to all train traffic Friday night, crews will conduct 10 days of work on this tube — shoring up third-rail infrastructure and making other tweaks — before reopening it, and then shutting down Tube No. 2 next. If all goes according to plan, Tube No. 2 will then be closed for 13 months, during which time Amtrak crews will overhaul its tracks, wiring and benchwalls, effectively building a new tunnel in the shell of the old. Three months after Tube No. 2 is complete, Amtrak will shut down Tube No. 1, and give it the same treatment. During the two-and-a-half years when one of the four tubes will be shut to train traffic, the current LIRR and Amtrak schedules — both of which were slightly reduced as of November in anticipation of the shutdown — should, in theory, be unaffected. But LIRR sources tell The News that signal failures inside all four tubes are somewhat common, and that it is not unusual to have a tube go out of service for hours while Amtrak crews are making repairs on it. While one tube is down for Amtrak's upcoming overhaul, that means any relatively minor problem in another tube could leave the three railroads competing for space in just two tubes — for hours at a time. As a result, MTA leadership has questioned the necessity of a full overhaul — and expressed concerns that even an hour of operations with potentially only two tubes operating could bring commuter train service to its knees. LIRR President Rob Free said last week that Amtrak should be asking: 'What [work] is absolutely essential, and only essential, to make sure the tunnels are in good condition?' Free and other MTA brass have called on Amtrak to adopt a similar approach to what the MTA did — unwillingly, at first — to repair similar corrosion damage in the L train's Canarsie Tunnel. The MTA's eleventh-hour decision in 2019 to abandon the old electrical wiring inside the Canarsie Tunnel's benchwall and mount new wiring on exposed racks along the tunnel's length removed the need to demolish concrete infrastructure within the tunnel — averting a planned 15-month shutdown. But Amtrak officials have repeatedly claimed that approach won't work in this case — saying that while the 600-to-800-volt DC wiring in the Canarsie Tunnel could be left exposed, the 12,000-volt AC lines that run the overhead power for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains cannot. Though similar high-voltage lines have been rack-mounted in other systems around the world — a 2020 report by independent experts at London Bridge Associates said such an approach was feasible on the East River Tunnel's sister structure, the North River Tunnel beneath the Hudson — Amtrak officials say they're committed to the additional layer of fire safety and insulation that a benchwall provides. A diagram of the planned rebuild reviewed by the Daily News shows that Amtrak does indeed plan to use rack mounting for the tunnel's lower-voltage wiring — including everything from radio communication to the tunnel's signal system. The massive cables used to carry the high-voltage traction power that runs the trains, however, will be placed inside a new benchwall. In a statement issued Thursday, an Amtrak spokesman said the meeting with Hochul and MTA officials had been 'productive,' adding they would continue to monitor their work plan and make adjustments as necessary to minimize the impact on commuters. 'It is important to all of us 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 statement read.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Superstorm Sandy aftermath: East River Tunnels set for rehabilitation
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The next big transit project is on track to begin May 23rd in the East River Tunnels. Amtrak is the owner of the tunnels that connect Long Island to Penn Station. More Local News Railroad officials and project planners inspected the area overnight and released this video. One of the tunnel tracks will be closed for extensive repairs and rebuilding. It should take 13 months. Then the work moves to a second track for another 13 months. The Long Island Rail Road and Gov. Kathy Hochul have expressed concerns about possible service disruptions if issues arise. Amtrak and the LIRR have been coordinating schedules and working on the planning. Amtrak believes any disruptions will be kept to a minimum. This is the next major rehabilitation work to repair and restore the tunnels after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- CBS News
LIRR president warns riders as Amtrak's East River Tunnel shutdown approaches
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.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Rare tour of Amtrak's East River Tunnels before shutdown for $1.6 billion repair project
Before Amtrak starts its $1.6 billion project to repair the East River Tunnels damaged in Superstorm Sandy, CBS News New York got a rare look inside the tubes hundreds of feet below the surface. While some fear Amtrak's plan to shut down rail tunnels will be a nightmare for New York City commuters on the Long Island Rail Road, officials say there's no other way to make the repairs. Rare look inside Amtrak East River Tunnels before shutdown Amtrak, which owns the East River Tunnels, says two of the four tubes will be closed while crews demolish and remove systems down to the concrete liner, patch crumbling walls, and replace cables and bench walls. "This is 130-year-old steel," one Amtrak official said. Our tour of the tunnels revealed some of the specific problems that need to be fixed, including water actively pouring inside and impacting the wires above the tracks. "This is a great example of the challenges we face in the system. You have water egress," another Amtrak official said. A look inside one of Amtrak's East River Tunnels before the start of a $1.6 billion project to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy. The project requires a shutdown of the tunnels. May 15, 2025. CBS News New York Repairs expected to take until 2027 The massive project is scheduled for completion in late 2027. Officials say it's been in the works for months and there are no suitable alternatives. Critics argue LIRR service will see major disruptions once the tunnels are closed and construction begins. The long-term outage has already limited service to Penn Station, like in early May when trains were affected by an issue in one of the tubes. "The composite of all of that extra work requires that more long-term shut down in order to complete the project quicker, more efficiently and at a lower cost," David Cooper, Amtrak's senior principal project manager, said. Another Amtrak official said riders should feel confident the work will be done on time. "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," he said.
