Amtrak will begin major rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel in New York City later this year following the award of a construction contract to a Skanska E-J ERT Joint Venture.

The tunnel is comprised of four tubes — two of which require significant repairs and comprehensive reconstruction following damage caused by floodwaters that entered the tunnel during Superstorm Sandy.

Building New Tunnel Systems

The East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project will demolish all existing tunnel systems down to the liner, before completely restoring both tubes that were damaged in 2012.

During this project, one tube will be closed at a time, minimizing service impacts while maximizing track access for construction, and renewing the tunnel infrastructure to serve customers for another 100 years.

“The rehabilitation of this century-old tunnel damaged during Hurricane Sandy, will provide the thousands of New Yorkers who use it every day a safer and smoother ride in and out of Penn Station,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “With the support of the Biden-Harris Administration and our congressional delegation we are working together to finally move this critical project forward.”

The East River Tunnel

The East River Tunnel opened in 1910 and consists of four tubes connecting New York Penn Station (NYP) — America’s busiest train station — with Queens and beyond.

It connects intercity trains leaving Manhattan on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) north to Boston and commuter services east to Long Island or into Sunnyside Yard, where trains are stored, cleaned, and turned around to reverse directions before traveling back to New York Penn Station and eventually into New Jersey.

The tunnel is used by more than 450 daily Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and NJ TRANSIT trains. In the future, it will also serve Metro-North trains upon completion of MTA’s Penn Station Access Project.

About the Project

The work will involve demolishing the existing tunnel systems down to the concrete liner, followed by reconstructing and modernizing all tunnel systems, which include:

• Spot repair and patching of the concrete tunnel liner.

• Reconstruction of the bench walls in a modern high-low configuration.

• Conversion from ballasted track to a modern direct fixation track system with integrated drainage.

• Installation of new, state-of-the-art fire and smoke detection systems.

• Replacement and modernization of signal, traction power, standpipe, and drainage systems.

Additional work will be performed aboveground to upgrade tunnel approaches and install new signal equipment and power cables in Queens, as well as improvements to existing ventilation facilities in Manhattan and Queens.

The project will be governed by a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) established as part of a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding between Amtrak and North America’s Building Trades Unions covering Amtrak’s major civil engineering projects.

Amtrak’s Plans to Maintain Service

During the work, which is expected to last approximately three years, Amtrak plans to maintain the vast majority of service, with slight schedule changes for Northeast Regional and Acela trains, as well as modifications to some Long Distance and State Supported services.

The project will also not result in a major disruption to LIRR or NJ TRANSIT service. Amtrak and the railroad partners are coordinating closely to mitigate service impacts and will provide detailed service information via numerous channels in the coming months.

The important contract award follows a competitive procurement process that Amtrak began with the support of its partners — LIRR and NJ TRANSIT — in Spring 2023.

Amtrak has also awarded a construction management (CM) contract to a STV Inc./Naik Consulting Group, PC Joint Venture. The CM will assist Amtrak with management of the construction contractor, document control, schedule and budget oversight, and community outreach support.

The team will be fully integrated with Amtrak’s in-house Capital Delivery department and the construction contractor.

The project has had ongoing support from Jacobs Engineering Group with design development for the required rehabilitation and system improvements.

Preparatory work is already underway in Sunnyside Yard, with major construction expected to begin in late 2024 and continue through 2027.

Impact of the East River Tunnel

The East River Tunnel is a critical link on the NEC and repairing the damage from Superstorm Sandy is essential to ensuring a resilient and robust passenger rail network for the next 100 years.

This is one of several major infrastructure projects underway at Amtrak as the company delivers its largest ever capital program, with billions of infrastructure investments planned for this year.

These investments include multiple pieces of the Gateway Program, including the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project and Dock Bridge Rehabilitation Project, as well as supporting the Portal North Bridge Project led by NJ TRANSIT and the Hudson Tunnel Project led by the Gateway Development Commission.

Amtrak is also planning major upgrades at Sunnyside Yard that will enable more efficient maintenance practices and prepare for new trains scheduled to enter service in the coming years. That contract award is expected later in 2024.