May 1, 2025
Amtrak's President and Governor's Office Trade Letters over Service Disruptions due to East River Tunnel Reconstruction
Following Amtrak's Cuts to Empire Service, Governor Hochul Calls for Strategic Reevaluation of Construction Plans to Minimize Impact on Passenger
April 28, 2025 | Albany, NY
Governor Kathy Hochul today called on Amtrak to reevaluate its plan to fully shut down the East River Tunnels as it undertakes its latest rehabilitation project and consider shifting instead to a ‘repair in place’ method — with construction happening during nights and weekends — to maintain normal train schedules. The Governor’s announcement comes on the heels of news that Amtrak plans to temporarily delay the tunnel closure while maintaining service cuts that disproportionately impact Empire Service riders. In a letter to Amtrak, Governor Hochul urged the company to re-examine its plans and take innovative steps to mitigate impact to passengers.
“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,” Governor Hochul said. “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.”
Empire Service is supported by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and carried more than two million passengers in FY 2024, setting all-time records for ridership and revenue. Last year, Amtrak announced the decision to reduce 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.
Governor Hochul has expressed support for the project and its aim to address a state-of-good repair backlog on the Northeast Corridor, but has been vocal in her opposition to plans that have caused Empire Service trains to receive a disproportionate share of impacts to schedules. That opposition led to an agreement between Amtrak and the NYSDOT for the restoration of nearly all of the trains that had been temporarily suspended in advance of the tunnel closure. Part of the agreement included a commitment to add additional coach cars to other Empire Service trains in order to further mitigate the disruption to passengers. Amtrak has since cast doubt on that commitment in order to redistribute rolling stock while Horizon fleet passenger cars are removed from service to address corrosion issues. Governor Hochul has also expressed concern that significant risks to Long Island Rail Road service posed by a total shutdown remain unaddressed.
With Amtrak soon to be under new leadership, New York State believes now is the time for the planned ERT shutdown to be thoroughly re-examined. There is ample local and international precedent for the ‘repair in place’ method, which could simultaneously permit maintaining existing daytime trips while reducing the risk of major service disruptions.
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “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. I join with Governor Hochul in urging Amtrak to put passengers first and re-think their planned service reductions, which unfairly impact Empire Service riders. The rehabilitation of the East River Tunnels is a needed and important project, and we want to continue to work with Amtrak to find a way to do this work without inflicting unnecessary burdens on New Yorkers.”
PRESS RELEASE
Amtrak Statement from President Roger Harris on East River Tunnel Rehab Project
April 30, 2025
Amtrak has coordinated with – and obtained approval from – MTA and NJ TRANSIT for East River Tunnel (ERT) rehab service plan several months ago, which balances impact to our commuter partners, as well as Amtrak and NYSDOT service to Albany. In addition, MTA has approved the construction plans, designs, and supported the application for funding for this project – which has already been obligated by USDOT. The contractor is ready to start, as they were given Notice to Proceed a year ago and is already committed to a work schedule.
Over the past several years, in coordination with MTA and NJ TRANSIT, Amtrak evaluated several construction plans utilizing international best practices and has been open to alternative approaches, including the “repair in place” approach, to achieve the full scope of work to ensure reliability and safety in the ERT. This joint evaluation produced some improvements to our original plan and was incorporated into our design. However, the plan we are implementing proved to be the safest, most efficient, reliable, and timely to complete the full rehabilitation of East River Tunnel, making it the best use of taxpayer investments.
Major construction work will still begin on May 9, after MTA delayed the work for more than seven months due to their lateness in completing work for their Eastbound Re-Route project. We have been actively working with MTA to mitigate the impact of this delay on the ERT project, including finding ways to shorten the overall outage. We appreciate Governor Hochul’s commitment to Empire Service, and have been happy to continue the extra capacity that we agreed with her in December well beyond the March 2nd date that we committed to. We are also eager to partner with the MTA on her suggestion of using their commuter trains to provide more options and solutions for our customers.