LIRR hit with disruptions into Penn Station due to Amtrak work near East River Tunnel
The Long Island Rail Road was hit with delays and disruptions during the Wednesday morning commute into New York City.
The LIRR said the issues stemmed from an Amtrak power problem in a tube of the East River Tunnel, adding 43 trains were delayed, five were canceled, and six were diverted.
"What took place this morning was unacceptable, it should not happen and cannot happen again. Tens of thousands of Long Island Rail Road customers were inconvenienced this morning," LIRR President Rob Free said. "Unfortunately, what we've seen is the result of poor maintenance practices by Amtrak."
The good news is the power issue was resolved within a few hours and was not expected to impact the evening commute, officials said.
Here's what Amtrak says happened
Amtrak said crews were doing work on a line outside the East River tunnel overnight, and the repairs were not done by the morning rush.
"The work went over the outage period as we are still completing repairs. We apologize for the inconvenience to Long Island Rail Road passengers," a spokesperson for Amtrak told CBS News New York.
Riders were advised to expect delays, cancellations and diversions on the way to Penn Station in Manhattan.
Some commuters said they didn't know they were being diverted until they were already on board, finding out they were headed to Grand Central instead of their normal stop at Penn Station.
"This is exactly what we have been concerned with and warning our customers and Amtrak about," said Free.
The MTA cross-honored tickets on the E train between Jamaica and Penn Station, and on the 1, 2, 3, 7 and Times Square Shuttle train between Grand Central and Penn Station.
Amtrak says issues underscore need for East River Tunnel shutdown
While Amtrak said the impacted line is not part of the East River Tunnel Rehab Project, it said the issues Wednesday morning underscore the risk of a "nights and weekends" approach to major infrastructure projects, arguing that a full closure would be more efficient and minimize disruptions.
"This illustrates the risk of a nights and weekends approach to complex projects, and why the full tube closure of the East River Tunnel is the most efficient method and least disruptive to service and customers," the spokesperson continued. "Unexpected service disruptions, like the one experienced today, are far worse than a well-coordinated and well-planned approach that are scheduled in advance and have stronger mitigation plans in place."
The East River Tunnel Rehab Project aims to repair two of the four tubes damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Amtrak says it will need to fully close both tubes for 13 months each, with a three-month break in between repair jobs.
The shutdown could impact the 125,000 commuters who ride 461 trains through the tunnel each day. In addition to LIRR and Amtrak trains, the disruption could also impact NJ Transit trains that run out of Penn Station.
Hochul, MTA call on Amtrak to come up with another plan
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have called on Amtrak to rethink the plan, but Amtrak is holding firm.
Sources tell CBS News New York state officials want Amtrak to consider the following alternatives:
- Closing the tubes for extended weekends from Friday to Monday
- Possibly working overnight and on weekends
- Limiting repairs to summer when ridership is down
- Changing the repair plans, the way the MTA did to repair the Canarsie Tunnels
In a letter to Hochul last week, Amtrak President Roger Harris called the governor's objections "surprising" and chided her for the media coverage the he said "only erodes confidence in public agencies to deliver critical infrastructure projects."
The project is scheduled to start on May 23.
