Amtrak
Amtrak on Nov. 22 reported that it will restore Empire Service in time for the holiday season. The New York State-supported Empire Service carried more than two million riders in federal fiscal year 2024. In October, Amtrak announced the decision to reduce service by two daily round trips between Albany and New York City and implemented additional operational modifications to the Maple Leaf and Adirondack lines while it undertakes a $1.6 billion rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel, which was flooded during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The work will restore two of the four tubes of the East River Tunnel that were badly damaged.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in a Nov. 13 letter urged Amtrak executives to consider the many mitigation alternatives proposed by stakeholders, including the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), which partially funds the service, according to Amtrak. “After reevaluating all possible options, and in collaboration with commuter partners that utilize Penn Station,” Amtrak said it is “enhancing the Empire Service schedule in effect during construction work impacting Amtrak’s terminal in New York City.”
Beginning Dec. 2, the new schedules will ensure that the trains used historically by more than 98% of Empire Service customers will be in service until Amtrak’s major tunnel work begins in the spring, Amtrak said. This includes:
- The Adirondack and Maple Leaf will again operate as separate trains between New York City and Albany and allow for reduced wait times in Albany for Upstate riders.
- Trains 235 and 238 will be restored.
- Amtrak will add a fifth railcar to the following trains: 233, 234, 235, 238, 244 and 245.
These measures will be effective through March 2, 2025. Amtrak will “continue to evaluate the service plan, including additional capacity, to see if there are any new possibilities for making improvements, restoring service or modifying it based on future development,” it reported.
“It is vital that New Yorkers have access to dependable and convenient passenger rail service, especially as we head into the busy holiday season,” NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said. “My thanks to Amtrak for working with us to find meaningful solutions that minimize the impacts on passengers and benefit everyone.”
Separately, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit earlier this month reported progress fixing Northeast Corridor catenary problems.
MBTA
The MBTA Board of Directors on Nov. 21 approved a $165 million option with Hyundai Rotem for an additional 39 bilevels for Commuter Rail operations, according to the State House News Service.
MBTA’s original order, struck in 2019, was for 83 bilevels. It was funded by the commonwealth of Massachusetts to replace aging Commuter Rail cars and boost fleet capacity. In August 2024, the transit agency exercised an option with the manufacturer for another 41 bilevels.
The new cars will “bring our reliability up and customer satisfaction up,” said MBTA Senior Director of Vehicle Engineering William Wolfgang, according to the State House News Service. “Once all 163 vehicles [of the Hyundai Rotem contract] are online,” the media outlet noted, “the T can phase out single-level commuter rail cars.”
Also on Nov. 21, MBTA CEO and General Manager Phil Eng told the agency’s Board of Directors that CRRC continues to deliver new Red and Orange line cars “on the schedule that we’ve set, and the quality has not shifted,” Boston 25 News reported. “‘Quality, in fact, has gotten better,’ Eng said. ‘All of the learning curve that took place during the Orange Line [car delivery] prior to myself getting here [in April 2023] is being factored in, so now the Red Line cars are performing right off the bat.’”
The parties nine months ago “announced a renegotiated contract due to extensive delays in the original plan,” reported Boston 25 News. “The contract terms set a minimum standard of 90,000 miles between service failures, and CRRC’s Red and Orange Line vehicles are now achieving more than 200,000 miles between incidents, according to Eng. One especially helpful change, Eng said, is that T leaders have been meeting directly with CRRC’s vendors as well as the manufacturer itself to ensure that all needs are met to keep production running smoothly.”
According to the media outlet, the cars’ price tag is “now expected to exceed $1 billion under the renegotiated terms, which account for higher-than-forecast costs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In other MBTA news, the transit agency recently released its Strategic Plan Update detailing progress on fiscal and infrastructure improvements, and showcased the future Green Line Type 10 vehicle mockup at Boston City Hall Plaza.
Metrolinx
“Excavation is now under way near Exhibition Station for the Ontario Line’s tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site,” Metrolinx reported Nov. 22. A 52.4-foot (16-meter) deep shaft will become the starting point for two TBMs that will dig a roughly 3.7-mile (6-kilometer) pair of twin tunnels. According to Metrolinx, this is the first subway tunnel project to start in Toronto’s downtown core in more than 60 years.
The two twin tunnels created by the TBMs will run from just east of Exhibition Station to just west of the Don River. Following tunneling, the launch shaft will become the portal where Ontario Line trains will transition, traveling east, from above to below ground.
“The start of excavation to support tunneling throughout the downtown core represents another major development for the Ontario Line and for the people of Toronto,” said Phil Verster, President and CEO of Metrolinx. “With station, bridge, and above-ground track construction now under way across the route, we are gaining critical momentum on a project that will curb crowding on transit lines and roadways.”
When complete, the Ontario Line will be a 9.7-mile (15.6-kilometer) stand-alone subway that will bring 227,500 more people in Toronto within walking distance to transit, according to Metrolinx. The line will bring 15 new stations to the city and will run from Exhibition Place, through the heart of downtown, all the way to the Eglinton Crosstown LRT at Don Mills Road. It will offer connections to more than 40 other travel options along the way, including the TTC’s Line 1 and Line 2, three GO Transit rail lines, and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
The Ontario Line is being delivered through several procurement contracts:
