Amtrak Reopens 116-Year-Old East River Tunnel Line 2 as $1.3 Billion Sandy Rehab Reaches Halfway
Updated
Updated · WABC-TV · Aug 18
Amtrak Reopens 116-Year-Old East River Tunnel Line 2 as $1.3 Billion Sandy Rehab Reaches Halfway
3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Aug 18
Summary
East River Tunnel Line 2 reopened Monday at Penn Station after a yearlong overhaul, restoring one of four tubes linking Queens to Penn and carrying more than 450 daily Amtrak, LIRR and NJ Transit trains.
14 million gallons of Superstorm Sandy salt water flooded the tunnel in 2012, and crews rebuilt the three-mile tube with new track, drainage, power, communications and life-safety systems.
The closure had cut LIRR capacity into Penn Station by 20%, adding to commuter strains that were highlighted again when a May track fire disrupted service for three days.
Line 2 marks the halfway point of the Sandy recovery project; work on damaged Line 1 is due to start this fall and run through the end of 2027, while Lines 3 and 4 need no rehab.