Missed outage windows and absent crews push Metro-North project completion to 2030
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed during its Oct. 27 joint Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road committee meeting that its long-planned Penn Station Access project faces a three-year delay, with substantial completion now expected in the second quarter of 2030.
While the delay was not discussed during the public session, MTA documents reviewed by ENR show the agency formally notified Amtrak in writing that its failure to meet contractual obligations has stalled progress on the 19-mile commuter-rail expansion. The project is part of the MTA’s effort to link the East Bronx and southern Connecticut more directly to Manhattan’s west side through Penn Station.
Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development, accused Amtrak of “repeated breaches” of the 2021 Design-Build Phase and Cost-Share Agreement, which governs the project’s shared use of Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line.
In a 10-page letter sent Oct. 27 to the rail carrier, he wrote that “the project is delayed by more than three years as of the current mitigated schedule submitted by HRJV,” referring to design-builder Halmar International/RailWorks JV.
MTA documents outline a pattern of missed access windows and absent crews that, the agency asserts, have crippled construction. Only two of 10 promised weekend track outages were delivered in 2022 and five of 38 in 2023.
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Over that period, Amtrak failed to provide required personnel on 98 days when track foremen were needed and on 77 days when electrical linemen were required to de-energize catenary systems—violations of the 2021 agreement.
“As the owner of the right-of-way, Amtrak committed contractually to support the project,” the MTA report states. “Unfortunately, these commitments have not been kept, and the project has suffered major delays as a result.”
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Oct. 27 Board Meeting (Video)
The cost-share agreement obligates Amtrak to provide track-outage windows and force-account labor, with a clause allowing the MTA to recover up to $50 million in delay-related costs if those commitments are not met. Torres-Springer said damages have already exceeded that amount and urged Amtrak to reopen negotiations.
“Absent meaningful corrective action and additional financial participation from Amtrak, MTA will consider all available remedies,” he wrote.
The agency’s presentation places the project at 39% complete, with the baseline budget of $2.867 billion unchanged but “at risk” pending re-baselining later this year. MTA has not yet quantified the delay’s impact on total cost.
Delay Highlights Coordination Breakdown and Commuter Impact
Map from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority showing a preliminary service plan for the 2027 temporary phase of the $2.9-billion Penn Station Access project. The plan calls for limited weekday Metro-North service to three new Bronx stations—Co-Op City, Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest—while full four-track operations are deferred until 2030. Graphic courtesy of MTA Construction & Development
Under the design-build contract, Halmar-RailWorks is delivering four ADA-accessible stations in the East Bronx—at Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-Op City—along with bridge upgrades and modernized power, signal and communications systems. Ankura Consulting serves as independent scheduler overseeing the work.
Agency officials are evaluating a temporary-service plan that could open three of the new Bronx stations—excluding Hunts Point—as early as 2027 using existing two-track infrastructure, while full four-track capacity is deferred to 2030.
During the meeting, MTA Chair Janno Lieber said the authority is “pointing out what’s taking place so the world understands it,” adding that transparency around interagency performance is essential to avoiding a repeat of the coordination failures that dogged East Side Access.
Amtrak has not publicly disputed MTA’s account. In a statement to the media, the railroad said it “remains committed to this critical project and to being good stewards of taxpayer investment,” noting that it has invested more than $140 million and deployed additional staff to support the work.
The delay has implications for Bronx commuters and regional contractors alike MTA projections show the extension could cut travel times to Manhattan by as much as 50 minutes and spur redevelopment near the new stations.
Lieber said the agency will present a new cost-risk assessment and schedule re-baseline before year-end.
“This is not about blame,” he said. “It’s about transparency and making sure the public understands what’s holding up one of the most important transit links in the region.”
