March 20, 2026
Passenger

East River Tunnel Project Winter Update

Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor

ERT project track work

Amtrak

NEW YORK CITY - Amtrak gave a winter progress update on the East River Tunnel Rehab project.

In December, RT&S reported on the ERT Project progress. Throughout the fall, crews poured the first section of concrete for new bench walls to run alongside both sides of the tunnel and house heavy duty electrical conduits and provide emergency egress. On February 6, all benchwalls in the Line 2 tunnel were complete. More than 16,000 linear feet of new benchwall was placed over the course of 41 pour days.

***The new high and low bench walls.*** ***Amtrak image.***

Now, Amtrak says the last few months have marked “one of the most significant periods of progress yet” for the project. Since the new year, crews have worked in every area of the project to prepare the tunnel for the next major phase, track construction. Throughout challenges, including severe weather and weekend outages, crews completed critical civil construction and advanced complex systems installations. With this, Amtrak says Line 2 is scheduled to reopen in July of this year.

After benchwall construction wrapped, track construction began officially on February 7. Throughout the month, crews worked to pull more than 8,000 feet of continuous welded rail into the tunnel and set more than 3,000 resilient low vibration track (LVT) system blocks. In all, the team completed almost 1,000 feet of track bed. Additionally, Amtrak says project work on the west end of the tunnel, between Penn Station & 1st Ave is scheduled to be completed the week of March 21.

Upcoming work for the project includes installing CCTV cameras, pathfinding handrails, emergency egress doors, fire detection systems, public address speakers, LED lighting, signage and conduits, and fire standpipe cabinets and blue light stations. Over the next couple of months, crews will continue LVT and track construction, begin installing future third rail for LIRR trains (and overhead power systems for Amtrak trains), test critical signal circuits, and begin final integration and system commissioning. The next phase is its most “technically complex,” says Amtrak, and its teams remain “fully focused on delivering a modernized, resilient tunnel ready to serve passengers for the next century.” Below is a gallery of images from Amtrak showcasing the track installation, concrete pours, and cable work.