Despite fears of delays and cancellations due to the track repair work at New York Penn Station, Amtrak operations have been running smoothly for the most part.
The construction period, which New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has labeled the "summer of hell," began July 10. The repair work will fix infrastructure issues, which had been causing derailments and delays.
In 2016, more than 10 million Amtrak riders either began or ended their trip at Penn Station. The station also serves as a hub for the commuter lines NJ Transit and the Long Island Rail Road, which offer train service to Newark and New York Kennedy airports.
"We have not seen any disruption or challenges with our guests traveling on Amtrak Vacations in regards to Penn Station," said Kaitlyn Audley, the partnership marketing manager at Yankee Leisure Group. She added that many Amtrak Vacations guests "travel on long-distance rail to our U.S. national parks like Glacier National Park or the Grand Canyon."
Amtrak has made some temporary changes to its schedule. Three weekday Northeast Regional trains between New York and Washington have been canceled. The route for the Keystone Service trains between New York and Harrisburg, Pa., has been shortened: It will now start and end in Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia. The same has been done for the Crescent train, which normally brings passengers from New Orleans and Atlanta into Penn; it will now terminate in Washington, D.C.
"Connections will be provided for Crescent passengers to other Northeast Corridor trains to and from New York and intermediate points," Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert said.
These schedule modifications are expected to end by Labor Day, as the Amtrak spokesman confirmed that the construction work is on schedule.
"Amtrak engineering and operations crews are working in tandem around the clock to provide frequent updates concerning the ongoing work and to coordinate a response should any issues arise," he said.
The latest information and updates on infrastructure renewal at New York Penn Station is available at www.amtrak.com/nyprenewal.