Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - 4/29/2025… Yesterday, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) blasted Amtrak’s drastic and unnecessary cuts to service in New York, demanding the railroad immediately reverse course before causing massive, long-term disruptions to travelers across New York. Beginning today, Amtrak is canceling 25% of daily Empire Service trains between Penn Station and Albany and slashing 10% of peak Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service into Penn.

While citing the need for full tunnel closures to complete a $1.6 billion federally funded project to address damage from Hurricane Sandy and deterioration on the over 100 year old tunnels, Amtrak has refused to adopt proven methods used around the world to maintain service during repairs, instead choosing to sideline thousands of New Yorkers for years.

“This plan is a total disaster for New York travelers, and it’s completely avoidable,” wrote Congressman Lawler. “Amtrak has alternatives that would keep service running during nights and weekends, but instead, they’re choosing to negatively impact service during peak travel times, hurting working families, students, businesses, and tourists.”

“I urge the Trump Administration and Secretary Duffy to overrule Amtrak and force them to keep the East River tunnel open during the day,” Lawler concluded in his letter. “We cannot allow Amtrak to sideline tens of thousands of travelers for years to come when there is a clear alternative.”

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.

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The full letter can be found HERE.