The New York Railway Tunnel connecting Penn Station with Long Island, the East River Tunnel, is about to return operational after fourteen years of inconvenience related to the consequences of Hurricane Sandy. This is East River Tunnel Line 2, one of the four underground tunnels connecting Manhattan with Queens, allowing the passage of local and long-distance trains.
In 2012 the floods caused by hurricane brought hundreds of thousands of litres of salt water into the galleries under the East River. Water corroded electrical systems, mechanical infrastructure and signalling systems, compromising the stability of the connection over the long term. In order to carry out a radical restructuring intervention and avoid continuous interruptions of the circulation, in May 2025 the authorities decided to close the Line 2 entirely to the railway traffic.
During the construction site, which lasted more than a year, the technicians dismantled the entire internal structure until they reached the original concrete coating. From there the gallery has been reconstructed as a leader, replacing the tracks, laying a new electric network and installing digital communication and signalling systems designed to ensure greater reliability and bring a centennial infrastructure to modern standards.
The reopening of the tunnel returns full capacity to the most busy rail hub of the region. Each day the East River Tunnel is used by over 450 trains operated by three different companies: the Long Island Rail Road for commuters heading east, New Jersey Transit and the long-distance Amtrak trains traveling along the Northeast Corridor. During the months of closing of Line 2, all traffic has been deviated on the remaining three barrels, creating bottleneck and delays at every technical failure.
The return to service of the line will be inaugurated by the passage of a ceremonial train before the restoration of normal scheduled hours. For the transport system of the metropolis the most complex construction is closed between the ones left open after the damage of the hurricane of 2012, restoring the original arrangement of the underground connections between Manhattan and the east of the state.
L’articolo The East River gallery reopens after the damage of Hurricane Sandy proviene da IlNewyorkese.
