Amtrak Reopens East River Tunnel Line 2, Completing First Phase of $1.6bn Sandy Rehabilitation

Amtrak has reopened Line 2 of its East River Tunnel, marking completion of the first phase of a $1.6 billion rehabilitation project made necessary after Superstorm Sandy flooded the century-old tunnel (opened in 1910) with roughly 14 million gallons of seawater in 2012.

Two of the tunnel's four tubes were damaged by the storm's saltwater corrosion. Line 2 was fully closed in May 2025 so crews could strip it back to its concrete liner and rebuild track, power, communications, drainage and structural systems from the ground up, alongside related work near Long Island City. The line returned to service on 17 August after roughly 13 months of construction.

Funding for the project came from multiple partners, anchored by a $1.26 billion federal grant awarded in 2023 under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, alongside up to $432 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, $85 million from NJ Transit and $55.5 million from Amtrak itself, reflecting the tunnel's role as shared Northeast Corridor infrastructure used by roughly 450 trains daily.

Attention now turns to Line 1, the second of the two Sandy-damaged tubes, with rehabilitation work expected to begin this fall and continue through the end of 2027. Until then, capacity through the tunnel remains constrained, and further service adjustments are possible as work progresses.