Penn Station Delays: Report Gives Dates When Amtrak Expects Most Disruption

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Amtrak executives announced an "aggressive" summer improvement plan for Penn Station last week, but were tight-lipped when it came to delving into specifics. A draft engineering plan for the project, acquired by Politico, provides insight on when Penn Station commuters can expect serious service obstructions this summer.

Track outages will occur during two main stretches, from July 7-25 and Aug. 4-28, according to a Politico report citing the draft engineering plan. During each stretch commuters can expect "significant impacts to service," according to the report.

An Amtrak spokeswoman did not confirm the track outage dates with Patch, but said that the company is still finalizing its summer construction plans with its partners at Penn Station — NJ Transit and the Long Island Rail Road.

"Work is under way to develop and refine our Penn Station Renewal Plan. Amtrak met with NJ TRANSIT and Long Island Rail Road on Monday, and our commuter partners are currently reviewing the initial plan and developing individual service plans," the spokeswoman said in a statement."

"We will reconvene with both partners on Thursday for further development. All groups are working with the common goal of creating service schedules that minimize impact on the traveling public when we do the necessary upgrades to Penn Station."

The Amtrak spokeswoman told Patch that information on track outage specifics may be communicated as early as next week. (For more New York City news delivered straight to your inbox sign up for Patch's free newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The landlords of the oft-maligned transport hub — operate Penn Station with the MTA, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road — plan on completing work that was expected to take years in a matter of months this summer, President and CEO of Amtrak Wick Moorman said on a conference call last week. While the majority of Penn Station tracks are used by other companies, Amtrak technically owns all the tracks.

"We have made the decision that it is the prudent thing to do is to get this done more quickly, but it will have a larger impact on the station," Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman said Thursday.

Construction work at the station will continue past this summer but will switch to a weekend-based schedule, Mooreman said.

Amtrak's Penn Station improvement plan includes four major projects:

1. Infrastructure renewal projects;
2. An independent review of Penn Station operations by former MTA CEO Tom Prendergast;
3. The construction of a joint station concourse operations center;
4. Safety and security upgrades.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images