Curbed NY - Penn Station's upcoming track closures: news and updatesLove where you live2017-05-22T09:15:02-04:00http://ny.curbed.com/rss/stream/154194912017-05-22T09:15:02-04:002017-05-22T09:15:02-04:00Cuomo calls on Trump to fix Penn Station’s ‘near riot’ conditions
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<figcaption>Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cuomo penned a letter to Trump over the weekend calling for emergency funds</p> <p id="ARVJhw">As New Yorkers prepare for the nightmare that will be Penn Station this summer, Governor Andrew Cuomo is hoping that the federal government, particularly President Donald Trump, will alleviate some of those troubles. Over the weekend, the Governor’s office <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/GAMC_signed_letterhead_5.21.pdf">released a letter</a>, from Cuomo to Trump, requesting emergency funds to carry out short-term repairs at Penn Station.</p>
<p id="3pqA8l">Earlier this month, <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15519606/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-lirr">Amtrak announced</a> that it would have to carry out 21 repairs at the beleaguered train station, which would take place over a period of 44 days in July and August. Following that announcement, <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15625980/amtrak-penn-station-more-repairs">Amtrak revealed</a> that another set of repairs might have to take place next summer if the work doesn’t wrap this year. </p>
<p id="F5kChH">We know that the repair work will reduce service at the station, with some speculating that service will reduce by up to 20 percent during rush hour. Amtrak is currently working with the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit to come up with schedules during the repairs, and those are likely to be unveiled this coming week, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/nyregion/cuomo-trump-penn-station.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=nyregion&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=N.Y.%20%2F%20Region&pgtype=article">according to</a> <em>the New York Times</em>. </p>
<p id="Hl60X8">Cuomo’s letter to Trump wasn’t just asking for assistance with short term repairs, but also talked about the need for a long-term fix at Penn Station and to <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2016/9/27/13078866/penn-station-moynihan-train-hall-plans-revealed">accelerate the conversion</a> of the James A. Farley Post Office building. </p>
<p id="f7mYoW">“I request that the federal government treat this as an emergency situation and provide funding for the short-term Penn construction and transportation alternatives and facilitation of a long-term resolution for Penn Station,” part of Cuomo’s letter to Trump read. “While this is not a hurricane or flood it will affect as many people and businesses with dire consequences.”</p>
<p id="udccgo">In his letter, Cuomo also stressed that the management of Penn Station should either be taken over by the Port Authority or a private contractor to speed up construction work. Cuomo <em>also </em>decided to mention the MTA’s troubles, just for good measure. </p>
<p id="1JkOY1">Last week, Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/19/15667402/nyc-subway-mta-andrew-cuomo-bill-de-blasio">were bickering</a> over the subway’s sorry state of affairs yet again. Following the release of an action plan last week to combat the subway’s woes, Cuomo also stressed in his letter to Trump that he was urging the MTA to speed up work on capital projects , and calling on the city government to meet its financial obligations towards the MTA.</p>
<ul>
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<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/nyregion/cuomo-trump-penn-station.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=nyregion&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=N.Y.%20%2F%20Region&pgtype=article">Cuomo Calls on Trump to Ease Penn Station’s ‘Summer of Agony’</a> [NYT]</li>
<li id="L5j3qQ">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15625980/amtrak-penn-station-more-repairs">Amtrak's Penn Station repairs may carry forward to next year</a> [Curbed]</li>
<li id="oTca9I">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/19/15667402/nyc-subway-mta-andrew-cuomo-bill-de-blasio">Cuomo, De Blasio continue to spar over responsibility for NYC subway woes</a> [Curbed]</li>
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https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/22/15674124/cuomo-trump-penn-station-repairsTanay Warerkar2017-05-17T16:00:02-04:002017-05-17T16:00:02-04:00Penn Station repairs could divert Amtrak trains to Grand Central Terminal
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<figcaption><a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Oliver+Foerstner">Oliver Foerstner</a>/Shutterstock.com</figcaption>
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<p>Wait, what?</p> <p id="zwbAqZ">As commuters who travel in and out of Penn Station wait to see to what extent their travels will be FUBARed this summer due to <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/4/27/15453700/penn-station-amtrak-delays-track-fixes">track closures</a>, a few New York state lawmakers have proposed a solution that might assuage those fears. </p>
<p id="ZICqBh">That solution: diverting some Amtrak trains to Grand Central Terminal for the duration of the repairs, which those lawmakers—New York state senator Neil Breslin, along with New York state assembly members John McDonald and Patricia Fahy—say will help mitigate the delays, service outages, and general stress that track closures will almost certainly cause. </p>
<p id="pf2Wnv">And according to <a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170517/midtown-east/amtrak-reroute-trains-grand-central-station-repairs-at-penn-station-summer">DNAInfo</a>, the MTA is “in conversation” with Amtrak and state officials about the proposal. “We're talking and meeting with Amtrak regularly,” an MTA spokesperson told DNAInfo. “We're hoping to have a final announcement and schedule put out soon.” </p>
<p id="SXpjY9">As of right now, track closures are <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15519606/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-lirr">expected to happen</a> for a total of six weeks in July and August, though Amtrak CEO Charles Moorman <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15625980/amtrak-penn-station-more-repairs">recently said</a> that they may not be able to finish before the end of this summer. These are necessary, Amtrak says, to facilitate repairs to aging infrastructure (which has caused derailments and other problems in the past few months), as well as the establishment of a coordinated operations center for the various agencies that use Penn Station. </p>
<p id="2FX6OL">But Breslin, McDonald, and Fahy, in a letter to Moorman, noted that both commuters and visitors to New York will be impacted by the service changes—which could, of course, hit the city’s economy. Plus, they note, it might be a feasible solution “in light of the fact that 20 years ago most trains were routed to Grand Central rather than Penn Station.”</p>
<p id="VsijYY">But as of right now, it’s nothing more than an idea—Amtrak and the MTA, along with other state officials, are still working out the details of the plan. </p>
<ul>
<li id="CMsyw6">
<a href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170517/midtown-east/amtrak-reroute-trains-grand-central-station-repairs-at-penn-station-summer">Amtrak May Relocate to Grand Central Station This Summer</a> [DNAInfo]</li>
<li id="Ez332d">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15625980/amtrak-penn-station-more-repairs">Amtrak's Penn Station repairs may carry forward to next year</a> [Curbed]</li>
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https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/17/15654642/amtrak-penn-station-track-repairs-grand-central-terminalAmy Plitt2017-05-11T15:45:01-04:002017-05-11T15:45:01-04:00Amtrak's Penn Station repairs may carry forward to next year
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<figcaption>Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Amtrak’s CEO is unsure if repair work will wrap up this summer</p> <p id="OvgCWi">Amtrak’s planned Penn Station repairs may carry forward into 2018, the <em>New York Post</em> <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/05/11/amtrak-ceo-penn-station-chaos-might-extend-into-next-year/">reports</a>. Following <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15519606/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-lirr">the announcement last week</a> that Amtrak will likely shutter some tracks at Penn Station for a total of 44 days this summer, the CEO of the corporation is saying that more trouble likely lies ahead.</p>
<p id="JiojgZ">While speaking at a hearing at the New York State Assembly on Thursday, Charles Moorman said Amtrak is going to try to finish as much work as possible this summer, but that they’re unsure if all the requisite repair and rehabilitation work will wrap up. If that’s the case, they will be forced to resume work sometime next year as well</p>
<p id="L9LKfX">Elected officials admonished Moorman for not scheduling repairs this summer during holiday weekends like Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Instead repairs are tentatively planned from July 7 through through July 25 and from August 4 to August 28.</p>
<p id="vXYH5j">Moorman was still unable to go into details about what the repairs would entail, but this latest announcement comes just a day after some Long Island Railroad trains <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/05/10/evening-commute-a-nightmare-once-again/">were delayed or canceled</a> because of a signal problem in an East River tunnel. More details on this summer’s repairs are expected to come forward next week.</p>
<p id="1n5Snz">The frustration expressed by legislators at the hearing on Thursday echoes the malaise New Yorkers are increasingly experiencing about public transportation in NYC, <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15624302/nyc-subway-mta-governor-andrew-cuomo">particularly the subway</a>. </p>
<ul>
<li id="aBdl0G">
<a href="http://nypost.com/2017/05/11/amtrak-ceo-penn-station-chaos-might-extend-into-next-year/">Amtrak CEO: Penn Station chaos might extend into next year</a> [NYP]</li>
<li id="LJk4Vd">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15519606/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-lirr">Amtrak’s Penn Station repairs will close some tracks for over a month</a> [Curbed]</li>
<li id="m5ELST">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15624302/nyc-subway-mta-governor-andrew-cuomo">New Yorkers bemoan Governor Cuomo's inaction on the faltering subway system</a> [Curbed]</li>
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https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/11/15625980/amtrak-penn-station-more-repairsTanay Warerkar2017-05-02T15:00:06-04:002017-05-02T15:00:06-04:00Amtrak’s Penn Station repairs will close some tracks for over a month
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<figcaption>Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Amtrak’s plan outlines 21 repairs that need to be made in various locations</p> <p id="4eqlqX">A week after Amtrak announced that it would <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/4/27/15453700/penn-station-amtrak-delays-track-fixes">close some Penn Station tracks</a> to carry out repairs on aging infrastructure, details are emerging on what that closure might entail. <em>The New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/nyregion/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-track-closings.html">got its hands on</a> a copy of closure plans that Amtrak shared with New Jersey Transit and Long Island Railroad, the two commuter railways that share the station with Amtrak. </p>
<p id="DnVvRB">These preliminary plans call for track closures to take place between July 7 through through July 25, and from August 4 to August 28, which amounts to a total of 44 days of closed tracks. The plan outlines 21 repairs that need to be made in various locations, according to <em>the Times</em>.</p>
<p id="oj2jNh">Officials from Amtrak, NJ Transit, and LIRR are meeting this week to create a final outline for the work, but it is not yet clear how this will disrupt service or train schedules when the tracks remain closed. </p>
<p id="kJsBOd">Amtrak had previously believed that work on the nights and weekends would help them rectify the track situation, but a series of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/04/nyregion/new-jersey-transit-derailment.html">derailments</a> and <a href="http://gothamist.com/2017/04/25/lirr_nj_transit_face_delays_due_to.php">delays</a> over the span of just one month has made them change course.</p>
<p id="VQZKuy">Elected officials from New Jersey are questioning Amtrak’s selected dates however and wondering why the corporation won’t schedule repairs on long upcoming holiday weekends like Fourth of July and Labor Day. We will continue to find out more this week as the three rail services hash out the final details on the closure, but it sure is looking like a hellish summer at Penn Station.</p>
<ul>
<li id="W1r5rA">
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/nyregion/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-track-closings.html">Amtrak’s Plan for Penn Station Repairs Calls for 44 Days of Closed Tracks</a> [NYT]</li>
<li id="GISwE8">
<a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/4/27/15453700/penn-station-amtrak-delays-track-fixes">Amtrak will close Penn Station tracks to repair its aging infrastructure</a> [Curbed]</li>
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https://ny.curbed.com/2017/5/2/15519606/amtrak-penn-station-repairs-lirrTanay Warerkar2017-04-27T14:42:46-04:002017-04-27T14:42:46-04:00Amtrak will close Penn Station tracks to repair its aging infrastructure
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<figcaption>Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Myriad delays and derailments have led to the drastic measure</p> <p id="EYfsPi">Getting in and out of Penn Station on a good day can be a harrowing experience, but as many New York commuters can attest, the past few months have been full of some terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad days at the transit hub. </p>
<p id="zw0pNc">To briefly recap: after an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/03/24/d-c-bound-acela-train-derails-at-new-yorks-pennsylvania-station/?utm_term=.5440b17c5525">Acela derailment</a> caused problems at the end of March, a NJ Transit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/04/nyregion/new-jersey-transit-derailment.html">derailment</a> on April 4 led to extensive delays on that system, along with the LIRR and Amtrak. Just days later, another <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/04/17/amtrak-dodges-responsibility-for-stuck-nj-transit-train/">NJ Transit train stalled</a> just outside of Penn Station, while false reports of a shooting on the same day led to <a href="http://gothamist.com/2017/04/14/false_reports_penn_station_stampede.php">mass hysteria</a>. And this week, <a href="http://gothamist.com/2017/04/25/lirr_nj_transit_face_delays_due_to.php">wire problems</a> in one of the tunnels led to delays that were so bad, the station was <a href="http://nypost.com/2017/04/25/penn-station-is-so-crowded-its-turning-people-away/">temporarily closed</a> to commuters. </p>
<p id="JCX8n2">Adding insult to injury, Amtrak officials have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/nyregion/penn-station-train-service.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FAmtrak&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collection">confirmed</a> that they knew about the track flaw that caused the two earlier derailments, but simply did not understand how bad it was. And to make matters worse, there’s a chance that the <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/2017/4/12/15274298/gateway-tunnel-amtrak-trump-budget">Gateway Tunnel Project</a>, which would replace the aging tunnels below the Hudson River that connect Manhattan to New Jersey, could <a href="http://ny.curbed.com/2017/3/17/14961744/gateway-amtrak-funding-trump-budget-cut">lose federal funding</a> under the Trump administration. </p>
<p id="GDJaKW">That’s all happened since <em>March, </em>and doesn’t take into account all of the times trains have been delayed or otherwise slow because of the aging infrastructure. So basically, things are no good at Penn Station right now.<em> </em></p>
<p id="IIR6MF">Amtrak officials have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html">mulling</a> different solutions to these problems, and according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/nyregion/amtrak-penn-station-repairs.html"><em>New York Times</em></a><em>, </em>the organization seems to be taking a page from the MTA’s playbook. Amtrak head Charles Moorman confirmed that some tracks leading in and out of Penn Station will be closed this summer for repairs, including on busy weekdays. According to the <em>Times, </em>Amtrak will “defer spending on technological improvements” to implement the multi-million dollar fixes. </p>
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<cite>Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="DdBhpv">“The simple fact of the matter is that some of the track and infrastructure in service today at Penn Station was built in the 1970s at a time when we were handling half the trains and a third of the customers that we do today,” Moorman said <a href="http://media.amtrak.com/2017/04/amtrak-president-ceo-wick-moorman-announces-new-york-penn-station-improvement-initiatives/">in a statement</a>. Approximately 600,000 commuters use Penn Station’s various transit lines (LIRR, NJ Transit, and Amtrak) on any given day; when the current transit hub opened in 1968, it was <a href="http://untappedcities.com/2016/11/03/10-fun-facts-about-the-current-penn-station-we-learned-at-futurepenn-summit/">intended for use</a> by just 200,000 commuters. </p>
<p id="fAEPOe">That strain on the infrastructure has led to wear and tear over time, and while routine maintenance has been completed over the years, a larger plan to repair the tracks has been slow going. But now, “we can’t wait that long,” Moorman stated. “This work needs to be done now.” </p>
<p id="hMHEUT">Though a press release notes that the work will require “track closures, operational coordination and schedule changes” to complete, Moorman “repeatedly declined” to comment on the extent of the repairs, or what sorts of changes commuters can expect, according to the <em>Times</em>. (Realistically, though, don’t expect things to be quick or easy.) </p>
<p id="x91YrM">In addition to the infrastructure repairs, Amtrak has also commissioned a review of the “interaction, coordination and collaboration” among Penn Station’s various concourses (to be headed up by former MTA chief Tom Prendergast), and the establishment of an operations center that can serve all of the transit systems that use the transit hub. </p>
<p id="8jrfqY">“We will be collaborating with our partners at NJT and the LIRR to plan this work in order to minimize disruptions and inconvenience for our customers who rely on us for service,” Moorman said in a statement. The majority of the work is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, but as with all things infrastructure-related, it’s best to expect delays. </p>
<ul><li id="27ax70">
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/nyregion/amtrak-penn-station-repairs.html">Amtrak Plans to Close Several Penn Station Tracks for Major Repairs</a> [NYT]</li></ul>
https://ny.curbed.com/2017/4/27/15453700/penn-station-amtrak-delays-track-fixesAmy Plitt