Amtrak Disputes MTA on Penn Station Access Delay, Demands Retraction

A pointy disagreement over the causes of delays on the Penn Station Entry mission escalated Nov. 12 as Amtrak issued a proper response letter rejecting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s claims that the railroad is primarily accountable for a three-year schedule slip on the $2.9-billion Metro-North growth into New York Penn Station.

The letter responds to an Oct. 27 discover from MTA Building & Growth President Jamie Torres-Springer, who instructed the company’s Capital Program Committee that the mission—now about 39% full—is projected for substantial completion within the second quarter of 2030 versus the unique March 2027 goal. 

He attributed that delay “predominantly” to Amtrak, citing missed outage home windows and insufficient force-account staffing on the Metro North’s Hell Gate Line. ENR reported these assertions Oct. 28, together with the MTA’s warning that delay damages might exceed the $50-million cap within the shared-use settlement.

Amtrak: “It Exceeded Entry and Staffing Obligations”

Within the Nov. 12 letter and in a Nov. 4 interview with ENR, Amtrak Government Vice President for Capital Supply Laura Mason acknowledges early entry and staffing challenges in 2022–23 however says the railroad has since “greater than met” its obligations beneath the 2021 Design-Construct Section and Value-Share Settlement.

“We struggled within the first 12 months, 12 months and a half… and we personal that,” she mentioned. “However since then and beginning in 2024, now we have been assembly our contract commitments on power account and assembly or exceeding the observe entry.”

In line with Amtrak, the railroad has granted two prolonged long-term outages—totaling 127 days and nonetheless ongoing—past the weekend closures envisioned within the mission’s outage tips, offering the Halmar Worldwide/RailWorks three way partnership “better productiveness and extra durations” than weekend work permits. Amtrak says it now “constantly exceeds” required staffing ranges.

Mason argues these efforts have been overshadowed by delays the MTA didn’t spotlight publicly. She cites repeated contractor design and set up deficiencies, security incidents, early delays tied to CSX freight operations and a seven-month slip brought on by the MTA’s Eastbound Reroute mission. 

The mix, she mentioned, creates overlapping delays that can’t fairly be attributed solely to Amtrak.

MTA Says, Amtrak Says

The MTA’s Oct. 27 committee supplies preserve the mission’s $2.867-billion funds however say the baseline is “in danger” till each businesses agree on a re-baseline. They define a plan to start restricted Metro-North service to new East Bronx stations in 2027—if Amtrak accepts extra aggressive outage patterns—whereas full four-track operations would transfer to 2030.

Laura Mason, Amtrak’s government vice chairman for capital supply, says the railroad has exceeded staffing and outage commitments on the Penn Station Entry mission and disputes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s claims that Amtrak is accountable for the mission’s three-year delay.

Picture courtesy of Amtrak

The supplies recount missed weekend outages and absent Amtrak crews within the mission’s early part and assert that “decisive motion” from Amtrak is required to revive schedule integrity.

The MTA, in an announcement to ENR, mentioned it stands by these assessments.

“New Yorkers need Amtrak to be accountable for his or her shortcomings. We’re glad they’ll work with us to ship Metro-North service for East Bronx residents in 2027,” mentioned MTA Building & Growth President Jamie Torres-Springer. “Bronxites have waited too lengthy whereas Amtrak trains roared by their neighborhoods with out stopping, and it should finish in 2027. LIRR is not going to scale back service to Penn due to Amtrak’s shortcomings.”

“On the identical time,” he added, “we’re upset Amtrak didn’t agree with a single one of many requests we made to get the everlasting mission again on observe of their response.”

The company additionally famous that its October 2025 Capital Program Committee report included findings from an impartial evaluator. “Amtrak acknowledged the principle drivers of delay of their response,” the MTA mentioned, “together with severely restricted outages, lack of help workers and inconsistent guidelines governing how work will get accomplished.”

Political stress adopted. On Oct. 30, U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), joined by different New York and Connecticut Democrats, despatched a letter to Amtrak President Roger Harris calling Penn Station Entry “a crucial transportation mission for your complete New York area” and urging cooperation to protect a 2027 service launch. 

The group requested a response by Nov. 12—the deadline that triggered Amtrak’s letter. Amtrak’s Oct. 28 public assertion additionally sought to border the mission as a shared duty, noting greater than $140 million in investments and “vital workers assets.”

In its response, Amtrak says the MTA has not offered key documentation associated to claims submitted by the Halmar-RailWorks three way partnership, together with executed contract amendments, schedule information and cost functions. 

Amtrak writes that each businesses had beforehand deliberate to collectively defend claims however now worries the MTA “doesn’t wish to maintain HRJV accountable in any respect.”

The letter disputes the allegation that Amtrak slowed design opinions, saying many submissions had been incomplete or out of compliance and that the contractor didn’t comply with agreed packaging and timing protocols. It notes that 22 site-specific secure work plans stay with the MTA or contractor for correction—some courting again months.

Amtrak additionally raises issues about what it describes as a “poisonous work tradition,” accusing the MTA of a “cycle of battle and retribution, together with public assaults on Amtrak,” and citing Part 30 of the cost-share settlement, which requires mutual consent earlier than public statements concerning the mission. The railroad calls for the MTA retract statements “particularly [Chairman] Lieber’s feedback that we’re in breach of contract.”

Regardless of the tensions, each businesses agree on the necessity for a revised mission baseline. Amtrak says it has been calling for up to date outage tips and a brand new substantial-completion date since fall 2023.

However the potential re-baseline schedule submitted Aug. 29 by the contractor contains assumptions—comparable to expanded double-track outages and eliminating the one-week buffer between closures—that Amtrak says exceed its commitments.

Amtrak’s letter leaves open the opportunity of service starting in 2027 however outlines a number of situations: a brand new Northeast Hall Entry Settlement, a collectively authorized service schedule with the MTA and the Connecticut Division of Transportation and a discount in Lengthy Island Rail Street service into Penn Station so extra Metro-North trains don’t displace Amtrak or NJ Transit capability.

Amtrak additionally pushes again on the MTA’s demand that it share in extra delay prices, saying the request is untimely with out full documentation of all delay sources, together with these tied to CSX, contractor efficiency and MTA-managed work. It cites Part 8(e) of the settlement, which assigns value will increase induced solely by MTA C&D to the company.

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Federal funding can be at stake. Amtrak notes that its contribution—and the Federal-State Partnership grant supporting the mission—rely on together with state-of-good-repair work on the Northeast Hall. Vital scope reductions, it warns, may jeopardize federal compliance and shift extra value to the MTA. Each businesses describe Penn Station Entry as a transformative mission that can deliver 4 ADA-accessible East Bronx stations, 19 miles of upgraded observe, energy and signaling enhancements and new connectivity between Metro-North’s New Haven Line and New York Penn Station. 

However when these advantages arrive hinges on how rapidly the MTA and Amtrak align on outages, staffing, threat allocation and re-baselining assumptions.

Mason says the bigger problem will not be the back-and-forth between businesses however what the general public is being instructed.

“The general public deserves higher, she says. “They deserve the entire story, not simply cherry-picked knowledge. Individuals within the Bronx want leaders prepared to be clear about what’s actually taking place and what may be accomplished about it.”