NEW YORK — Some direct Amtrak service between New York Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer will resume Thursday, Nov. 16, with the rest restored on Friday, WNBC-TV reports.
Service has been disrupted since Sunday, Nov. 12, because of structural issues with a parking garage above Amtrak’s right-of-way in Manhattan [see “Amtrak disruption of service …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 13, 2023].
New York Mayor Eric Adams originally outlined that timeline for the return of service during a Tuesday press conference — comments subsequently confirmed by both an Amtrak spokesman and the city’s Department of Buildings. A Department of Buildings representative told WNBC that the engineer and contractor for the owner of the parking garage have provided a timeline for repairs.
“They expect to complete enough of the shoring and repair work to open one of the two Amtrak lines on Wednesday evening, in time to run trains early Thursday morning,” the Department of Buildings representative said. “Repairs will continue, and the contractors and engineer tell us the second Amtrak line could be open as soon as Friday night.”
The multilevel parking garage on 51st street lies directly above the Amtrak tracks. The line has been closed after structural issues were discovered including small holes in two ramps of the garage, as well as cracked and deteriorating beams. Photos on the WNBC website include one photo through one of holes looking down to the tracks below.
The service disruption has seen some Empire Service trains cancelled, while others begin or end at Croton-Harmon, with passengers using Metro-North trains to connect between there and Grand Central Terminal. Two trains — the Adirondack and New York section of the Lake Shore Limited — have been beginning or ending in Albany. An Amtrak advisory posted on Monday, Nov. 13, with more complete details is available here.
Well, this took a lot less time than I had thought.
I think so.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
This is undoubtedly good news for concerned passengers.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün