The reopening marks the halfway point of rehabilitation efforts at Penn Station in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
Fourteen years after Superstorm Sandy rendered it inoperable, Amtrak reopened New York’s East River Tunnel Line 2 on Monday. The restoration process included several upgrades, including a new track and improved safety systems to the tunnel that carries more than 450 Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit trains daily.
ABC7 NY reports that Superstorm Sandy flooded two of the four East River Tunnels with 14 million gallons of saltwater in 2012, reducing the Long Island Rail Road’s carrying capacity by 20%. Reconstruction of the tunnel began in May 2025; Amtrak closed Line 2 for the entirety of the project. Amtrak will begin rehabilitation efforts on East River Tunnel Line 1, which Superstorm Sandy also decommissioned, this fall.
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Read the full story: Amtrak reopens East River Tunnel line damaged by Superstorm Sandy
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
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Newsom vetoes high-speed rail supervision bill after agency receives condemnatory audit
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Nation sees first electric plane-boat hybrid take off in public demo
The Viceroy Seaglider can fly at speeds of 180mph for up to 180 miles.
One of nation’s poorest counties to receive $6 billion data center
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello