A Penn Station Tunnel Is Open Again. Another One Will Close This Fall

NEW YORK, NY— Amtrak has finished rebuilding one of the East River tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy, restoring a key route into Penn Station after 15 months of work that reduced peak-hour Long Island Rail Road service.

Passenger service returned to the rehabilitated tunnel Sunday evening, marking the first completed phase of a project that will continue this fall.

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Amtrak owns four tunnels beneath the East River.

Two suffered major damage from Sandy in 2012, and the railroad plans to close the second damaged tunnel later this fall for its own rehabilitation.

The completed work includes a brighter lighting system designed to improve visibility for train operators and a larger drainage system intended to move water out of the tunnel more efficiently.

Amtrak chose to take each damaged tunnel completely out of service rather than repair it while trains continued running.

The MTA had pushed for a "repair in place" strategy, which would have allowed workers to perform construction overnight and on weekends while preserving rush-hour service.

The tunnels carry more than 450 trains a day, including LIRR, NJ Transit and Amtrak service.

The MTA plans to remain involved as Amtrak prepares to shut down the second Sandy-damaged tunnel.

The reduced capacity became especially difficult in May, when a fire temporarily disabled two of the remaining tunnels.

With those tubes unavailable, LIRR, NJ Transit and Amtrak had to share a single tunnel for trains crossing the East River.

Amtrak plans to begin rehabilitating the other Sandy-damaged tunnel later this fall.

The work is expected to continue through the end of 2027.

That means LIRR riders should expect another period of reduced capacity and potential crowding as Amtrak repeats the full-tunnel closure approach.

Amtrak maintains that completely closing each tunnel allows crews to perform the work more efficiently than repairing the structures while trains continue operating.