New Penn Station Work Won't Be Return Of 'Summer Of Hell': Amtrak

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Penn Station's summer of 2018 won't resemble last year's "Summer of Hell," but it won't be smooth sailing either. Amtrak, the transit company which owns and operates the Unite States' busiest transit hub, announced this week that another round of infrastructure work will be performed at Penn Station this summer.

The planned work — part of Amtrak's infrastructure renewal plan — will focus on "critical reconstruction" of three of Penn Station's major rail assets: The Empire Tunnel, the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge and Penn Station's Track 19, Amtrak officials announced.

"Amtrak is continuing to prioritize updating the infrastructure in and around New York Penn Station to improve our service reliability," Amtrak Executive Vice President and COO Scot Naparstek said in a statement. "We thank our partners for their coordination and flexibility as we continue this important and necessary work."

The reconstruction projects are expected to cost between $45 and $50 million and will affect service at Penn Station, Amtrak officials said. Between May 26 and Sept. 4 Amtrak's Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Adirondack and Maple Leaf lines will be diverted from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal due to work on the Empire Tunnel and Spuyten Duyvil Bridge. These two infrastructure assets connect Penn Station to Upstate New York.

The diversion means that Penn Station passengers will also be without a direct route to Chicago and will have to transfer to the windy city via Albany.

The reconstruction work on Penn Station's Track 19 will be conducted between Friday, June 8, and Friday, July 20, Amtrak officials said. The transit company is expecting the work to be less obstructive than work conducted in the summer of 2017, Amtrak officials said.

Amtrak is still finalizing its construction schedule and the schedules for modified train service, officials said. When the schedules are finalized, the Amtrak reservation system will reflect the changes in service.

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