All aboard the blame prepare!
Mayor Eric Adams jumped into the tunnel tug-of-war — blasting Amtrak’s East River shutdown plan and demanding feds step in earlier than commuters are left stranded and steaming.
In a fiery letter to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Monday, Adams known as Amtrak’s proposal to shutdown a prepare tunnel from Queens to Manhattan — which was accepted by the MTA — a “misstep” that might derail service for hundreds of thousands of commuters and depart your entire system uncovered to “shutdown risks” throughout the three-year venture.
“Amtrak has refused to listen to reason,” Hizzoner fumed, stating Amtrak is ignoring a extra wise repair to do the work on nights and weekends as a substitute of gutting daytime capability, which Adams mentioned “makes no sense whatsoever.”
Adams demanded federal intervention earlier than the tunnel doorways slam shut this Friday. A spokesperson for the US Division of Transportation didn’t instantly reply to The Submit on Tuesday.
The mayor joins a rising refrain of politicians — together with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Govt Bruce Blakeman — all begging Amtrak to hit the brakes on the plan over considerations it’ll power the MTA, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains to function on fewer tracks, main to coach delays.
Adams additionally argued Amtrak’s full-speed-ahead plan may depart Queens and Lengthy Island riders stranded.
“Instead of doing the logical, least disruptive thing — keeping one tunnel open during the day, including rush hours, and doing repairs over time, at night and on weekends — Amtrak has decided to close that one tunnel and start repairs from scratch, immediately causing significant service limitations and potentially jeopardizing train service altogether,” Adams mentioned.
And Adams hit again at claims from Amtrak President Roger Harris that the century-old tubes beneath the East River are so broken from 2012’s Superstorm Sandy {that a} full closure is critical. Adams mentioned engineers at London Bridge Associates confirmed a phased strategy is feasible for the $1.6 billion East River Tunnel rehabilitation — although extra pricey.
Adams didn’t say what the elevated prices can be in his letter.
A spokesperson for Amtrak didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry from The Submit Tuesday, however Harris final week accused the MTA and Gov. Hochul of spinning the story by blaming Amtrak for the disastrous service plan — although the MTA accepted the plan in October 2023.
The MTA Board “surprised” Amtrak execs by passing a decision condemning its steady outage plan at a board assembly final Wednesday — particularly since MTA workers had been intently working with Amtrak staffers on the plan all alongside, an Amtrak engineer advised The Submit after the decision was handed.
Amtrak will solely run 10 spherical journeys from Penn Station to Albany as a substitute of the same old 12 throughout the closures.
