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Amtrak service between Croton-Harmon station in Croton-on-Hudson and New York City has been temporarily suspended as a result of safety concerns resulting from "structure issues" of a privately-owned building above Empire Line tracks, Amtrak officials announced on Sunday, Nov. 12.
The structural issues were found in a New York City parking garage above the tracks on West 51st Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue, according to a report by ABC News.
To make up for the gap in service, passengers can instead travel on Metro-North trains from Grand Central Terminal between New York City and Croton-Harmon. Tickets will be cross-honored, officials said.
Additional schedule changes announced by Amtrak include:
- The cancellation of trains 233, 234, 235, 237, 240, 241, 244, and 280;
- Trains 49 and 69 will now originate in Albany;
- Trains 63, 64, 232, 236, 238, 239, 243, 281, 283, 284, and 294 will either begin or end in Croton-Harmon.
Officials did not give an estimate as to how long the suspension would last.
On Tuesday, Nov. 14, New York Gov. Kethy Hochul announced she is "deploying senior leaders" from the Department of Transportation, Division of Homeland Security Services and Emergency Services, and my Director of State Operations and Infrastructure, to join New York City and Amtrak officials for a visit to the site that is causing these problems and "determine a path forward."
Hochul added: "Thousands of New Yorkers rely on Amtrak service for their daily commute or long-distance travel.
"I'm outraged that service between Albany and New York City has been suspended for so long, especially as we approach some of the busiest travel days of the year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. While we know it can be difficult to repair aging infrastructure, a delay of this length is unacceptable."
Any customers with reservations on changed trains will be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or on another day, officials said, also adding that Amtrak will waive charges for customers who would like to change their reservations. Those looking to get their charges waived can call 1-800-USA-RAIL to do so.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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