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[Sloan]

 

Amtrak officials said they expect to begin repair work on four East River tunnels in New York by 2025, which is 13 years after Superstorm Sandy caused critical damage and flooding. The tunnels are primarily used by the Long Island Rail Road, and repairs will require the rail agency to operate without one of the four tunnels for up to four years after repairs begin. Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said that the update from Amtrak was, “extremely troubling,” since LIRR has already experienced a 72 percent increase in disruptions since the storm hit in 2012. Additionally, Amtrak officials originally expected to begin repairs in 2019 for a third of the newly project $1 billion price tag.

The change in the timeline and cost of repairs is due to one of Amtrak’s consultants, that primarily focused on repairing deep cracks and holes in the structure caused by the storm and corrosive saltwater. Amtrak officials said that the information provided by the consultant did not include aging electrical wires and signal systems. As result of the damage and aging systems, Amtrak agreed that a, “full reconstruction,” of the tunnels would be necessary for the tunnels’ future use. The design phase of the project, which began in 2015, is not expected to be finished until 2020. Once repairs begin, Amtrak plans to minimize delays for LIRR by waiting until the railroad begins running some trains to Grand Central Terminal as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s East Side Access project.

From:  NARP: 10-20-2017

[CNJRoss]

Mass Transit, 11/18/22

 

OP-ED: New York Penn Station East River tunnel repairs update

 

LIRR operations will continue to suffer from periodic delays, cancellation and combining of trains due to problems in the East River tunnels until they are fully restored to a state of good repair.

 

Larry Penner

 

On Sept. 8,1908, there was a celebration for the first day of direct Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service to New York Penn Station through the East River tunnels. This was a great day for transportation history. Prior to this, LIRR riders had to transfer to ferries from Long Island City to access Manhattan. This year, Sept. 8, represented the 114th Anniversary of direct LIRR service from Queens, Nassau or Suffolk County to Manhattan.

 

Amtrak and New Jersey Transit also benefit by these tunnels. They use these tunnels for access to the Queens Sunnyside Yards. This facility is used for mid day and overnight storage to position equipment for rush hour service. Bringing the East River tunnels up to a state of good repair is equally important as doing the same with both Hudson River Tunnels to New Jersey. Two of the four East River tunnels suffered significant damage as a result of Super Storm Sandy in 2012.

 

Ongoing cancellation and combining of trains due to signal and other problems in the East River tunnels, along with other locations on all nine branches of the LIRR system will continue for years to come. Amtrak will not initiate decades overdue major repairs of the East River tunnels until some time in 2024 (two years after East Side Access to Grand Central Madison begins).

 

 

 

Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road MTA Bus, New Jersey Transit along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ.

 

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