After Mild ‘Summer Of Hell,’ Will Winter Work Slow Penn Station?

Get ready for round 2 of the Amtrak track renovations at New York Penn Station. On Monday, Jan. 8, train commuters in the New Jersey and New York area may have to tweak their schedules when Amtrak kicks off a new series of track renewal projects at New York Penn Station.

The work will begin on Friday, Jan. 5, with revised scheduled train operations commencing on Monday, Jan. 8, Amtrak stated.

The bulk of the infrastructure renewal work for 2018 will take place on weekends, and the project scope has not changed since November’s initial announcement. The work is expected to conclude on May 28, 2018, with minor modifications to Amtrak and commuter train weekday operations at New York Penn Station, Amtrak stated.

Amtrak’s revised schedule includes:

• Amtrak cancelled Northeast Regional Trains 110 from Washington, D.C. (WAS) to New York Penn Station (NYP) and 127 from NYP to WAS
• Northbound Keystone Train 640 is terminating at Newark Penn Station
• Southbound Keystone Train 643 is originating at Newark Penn Station
• Southbound Train 173 is stopping at Newark Airport
• Southbound Trains 129, 193 and 653 are all having earlier departure times.
• Train 170 is also departing WAS early, is stopping at North Philadelphia and Cornwells Heights and resuming its schedule from Trenton

According to an Amtrak news release:

“The project is occurring in the area of Track 15, which requires a section of concrete demolition and replacement (similar to the work on Track 10 during the summer of 2017), and Track 18, which requires localized concrete demolition with complex steel hardware replacement and rail renewal. In addition, Amtrak is renewing and replacing three turnouts in ‘C’ Interlocking, which directs Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road trains to routes heading east and to Sunnyside Yard.”

Additional schedule information can be found at Amtrak.com and Amtrak.com/NYPrenewal.

Last summer, Amtrak embarked on a series of track repairs dubbed “The Summer of Hell” that were widely expected to cause havoc for local rail riders. However, many commuters reported seeing normal travel times and said that experts’ predictions of chaos didn’t quite come true.

• See related article: Penn Station 'Summer Of Hell' No Big Deal, Commuters And Head Of LIRR Report Easy Rides
• See related article: Full NYPS Rail Service To Resume As 'Summer Of Hell' Ends

NJ TRANSIT RIDERS ALSO AFFECTED

In November, NJ Transit stated that the Amtrak work commencing Jan. 8 will impact select NJ Transit peak period train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL), with scheduled service adjustments to begin on January 8, 2018 through May 28, 2018.

Read the full NJ Transit announcement here.

According to NJ Transit:

"The work will mainly affect a total of five trains per day which includes two in the a.m. peak and three in the p.m. peak periods. Of these five trains, one NJCL train in both the a.m. and p.m. will be diverted to Hoboken; one NEC train in both the a.m. and p.m. will terminate/originate at Newark Penn Station and another NJCL train in the p.m. will be cancelled. Other trains and other train lines may have adjustments made to the timetable or station stops, and customers are advised to check the service timetables carefully."

The affected trains include:

A.M.

• NJCL train 3216, the 6:11 a.m. eastbound Long Branch departure, will now depart at 6:23 a.m. and will be diverted to Hoboken renumbered as 2604
• NEC train 3122, the 7:06 a.m. eastbound departure from New Brunswick will terminate at Newark Penn Station renumbered as 5822.

P.M.

• NJCL train 3267, the 5:25 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate from Hoboken at 5:22 p.m. renumbered as 2609
• NEC train 3171, the 5:43 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate at Newark Penn Station at 6:03 p.m. renumbered as 5869
• NJCL train 3441, the 6:51 p.m. departure from PSNY, will be cancelled

NJ Transit Executive Director Steven Santoro said that while the impact will be "far less than what we experienced this past summer," he encourages Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line customers to "do their homework" and adjust their commuting plans if needed.

"I want to thank our customers in advance as we continue to support Amtrak’s efforts to renew critical infrastructure at Penn Station New York and avoid a repeat of the derailments we saw this past spring," Santoro said.

• See related article: Amtrak Train Derails At NY Penn Station, Minor Injuries To NJ Transit Riders
• See related article: NJ Transit Derailment At Penn Station Injures 5, Leaves Service Into NYC Suspended

GATEWAY TUNNEL UPDATE

Amtrak’s reminder of the upcoming track work comes just days after the Trump-era Federal Transit Administration officials effectively put the kibosh on the funding plan for a massive, $13 billion project known as the "Gateway Tunnel."

The Obama-era plan would create a two-track tube for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains under the Hudson River in an attempt to alleviate a critical bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor rail line. The existing rail connection between New Jersey and Penn Station consists of a pair of century-old tunnels just south of the Lincoln Tunnel.

These rail tunnels, which serve both Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, were already in need of repair when they were badly damaged in 2012 by millions of gallons of seawater from Superstorm Sandy.

• See related article: $13B Gateway Tunnel In Jeopardy; Feds Trash Obama-Era Deal

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Photo: Amtrak