Amtrak Photos Show Dangerous Hole as Service Suspended

Shocked commuters have been sharing photos online of a hole that opened up on the floor of a parking garage gaping straight down to the trains running beneath it.

The concrete lot is positioned above the Empire Line tracks in New York City, and Amtrak officials said on Monday evening that they've been forced to cancel some trains and modify other routes due "to safety concerns stemming from structure issues of a non-Amtrak, privately owned building."

Almost 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily across the United States, with the lines serving 23 million riders in 2022, according to number-crunching website Statista. The problems hitting NYC this week come after a difficult 18 months for the company. A deadly Amtrak train crash in June 2022 near Mendon, Missouri, caused the railcars to derail and flip over when the train plowed into a dump truck on the tracks.

Later that summer, the company was forced to slow down its trains, sparking delays between NYC and Philadelphia as a result of a heatwave that risked damaging infrastructure as rails and wires expanded in the sweltering temperatures.

What is causing the current delays and cancellations?

Some parts of Amtrak's service have been affected after a worrying hole developed in a Hell's Kitchen parking garage that is positioned directly above the tracks in Manhattan, according to the New York Daily News. Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams told the publication on Monday that the railway was working with the city and the property's owners "to resolve this as soon as possible."

Newsweek is attempting to locate the parking garage's owner and has reached out to Amtrak via email for comment.

Shocked drivers who spotted the hole in the floor of the Icon Parking facility on 51st St. near 10th Ave. shared photos and video clips online, with some going viral.

One 7-second clip, shared by a user of X, formerly Twitter, focused on the hole. As the camera zoomed in on the opening, train tracks were clearly visible directly below. A circle of orange paint had been sprayed around the hole, which had a traffic cone standing on either side of it.

X user CeFaan Kim, who shared the footage, posted: "You don't need to be an engineer to know this isn't good. You can literally see the Amtrak train tracks through the floor of this Hell's Kitchen parking garage. It's suspended Amtrak service from Penn to Albany."

One person replied to the post: "I like how theres a painted circle around the hole like the hole is the only problem and not the entire floor about to cave in."

Brooklyn resident and writer Andrew Gaimbrone shared another shot of the hole, along with an image of Amtrak workers apparently working on the problem below. A worker in a hard hat can be seen pointing up at the ceiling to his colleagues.

Which Amtrak Services Are Suspended?

Amtrak Northeast has been tweeting updates about its trains on X using the handle @AmtrakNECAlerts. Passengers should check its feed in order to keep informed about the company's services.

Train passengers can also use the company's website, Amtrak.com, to see whether their planned journeys will be affected or download Amtrak's mobile app.

Amtrak posted a statement on X shortly before 5:25 p.m. ET on Monday: "As of 5:24 PM ET, Amtrak Service Temporarily Suspended between New York City [NYP] and Croton-Harmon [CRT]." The attached statement added: "Passengers can travel on Metro North trains from Grand Central Terminal between NYP and CRT, where tickets will be cross-honored."

The statement also said that trains 233, 234, 235, 237, 240, 241, 244, and 280 were canceled. Trains 49 and 69 would originate from Albany (ALB), according to Monday evening's statement, and train 280 would only travel between Niagara Falls and ALB. Meanwhile, trains 63, 64, 232, 236, 238, 239, 243, 281, 283, 284, and 294 would originate or end in CRT.

Amtrak said it would waive additional charges for customers seeking to change their reservation.