NY Gov. Hochul Calls for Amtrak to Reevaluate its East River Tunnel Construction Plans

Marc Glucksman/River Rail Photo

ALBANY - In a letter to Anthony Coscia and Roger Harris from Amtrak, New York Governor Hochul urged Amtrak to reevaluate its plans to shut down the East River Tunnels for its rehabilitation project. Instead, Gov. Hochul asked to shift to a 'repair-in-place' method.

This “repair-in-place” method would have construction occurring overnight and on weekends. This letter comes after Amtrak announced a temporary delay to the tunnel closure “while maintaining service cuts that disproportionately impact Empire Service riders.” The letter, produced below, requests Amtrak to reevaluate its plans in regard to the impact it has on customers.

Letter to Anthony Coscia and Roger Harris

Governor Hochul stated, “While I continue to be supportive of the efforts to rehabilitate the East River Tunnels, the decision to maintain service cuts amidst this latest delay – and backtracking on public commitments to increase capacity during the shutdown – shows a disregard for Empire Service passengers. . . Enough is enough. It’s far past time for Amtrak to put its passengers first, take a hard look at its construction plans and ensure access to reliable train travel throughout this key corridor.”

The New York State Department of Transportation, or NYSDOT, supports the Empire Service. Amtrak announced the reduction of service “by two daily round trips between Albany and New York City and implemented additional operational modifications to the Maple Leaf and Adirondack lines while it undertakes a rehabilitation of the East River Tunnels (ERT) which flooded during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.”

According to Governor Hochul’s office, the governor has supported infrastructure repair and maintenance on the NEC, but “has been vocal in her opposition to plans that have caused Empire Service trains to receive a disproportionate share of impact to schedules.” This subsequently led to the NYSDOT and Amtrak to agree to restore almost all of the trains that had been suspended temporarily ahead of the tunnel closure. Additionally, the agreement included a commitment to add more coach cars to other Empire Service trains. With new leadership at Amtrak, the release states that New York State believes it is the right time to re-examine the planned ERT shutdown and implement a “repair-in-place” method to mitigate or reduce passenger service disruptions as much as possible.