NEW YORK – Amtrak has issued a Request for Qualifications for construction services regarding renewal for two of four tunnels under the East River. The project would work to modernize tunnel infrastructure. Preparatory work is already underway in New York’s Sunnyside Yard with major construction starting in early 2024 and continuing through 2027. The tunnels are used by Amtrak, NJ Transit, and Long Island Rail Road.
The selected construction contractor will rehabilitate both tubes by demolishing the existing tunnel systems down to the concrete liner and perform reconstruction of the tunnel and related systems. The work will be performed under a Project Labor Agreement as part of a 2021 Memorandum of Understanding between Amtrak and North America’s Building Trades Unions covering Amtrak’s major civil engineering projects.
The project is eligible for federal funding via the FY 2022-2023 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP-NEC Program) created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. An application for a full funding grant for the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project was submitted in March 2023 in response to the FSP-NEC Program Notice of Funding Opportunity. Amtrak issued this request for qualifications in anticipation of the Federal Railroad Administration funding decision expected in Fall 2023.
Amtrak previously applied for, and was awarded a grant under the FY 2021 Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program for the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Enabling Components Project, which will ensure that traction power is maintained in each of the tunnels while rehabilitation activities are underway.
Lots of things should’ve been done years ago. But Amtrak has been starved of capital investment for 50 years.
Well, being that revenue comes nowhere close to operating costs, there hasn’t been a single penny of revenue to retire capital costs in 52 years, it’s not too surprising. Also if you start hitting up the states for capital costs, might take a while for them to come up with the funds.
A turtle moves faster. FY 2021 funds to modify traction power distribution so other bores will continue to get traction power? That should have been done years ago especially after Sandy.. When was that completed? FY 2022 – 23 and now just applying 2 . Unless a lot of funds why wait to post the RFQ?. Was it because waiting for LIRR to prove GCT would work as planned?
There are four tubes under the East River between Long Island and Penn Station. They all date to the opening of Penn Station. What are the plans for the remaining two tracks?
Will enough LIRR traffic be diverted to Grand Central via the East Side Access Project to make up for the reduced capacity to Penn Station?