Amtrak has begun a major service reduction between New York City and Albany this week as part of a long-awaited infrastructure overhaul to repair the storm-damaged East River Tunnel — but the decision has triggered alarm from state leaders, rail officials, and frustrated commuters.

The scaled-back schedule, which went into effect Monday, reduces daily round trips from 12 to 10 between Penn Station and the state capital. The cuts are expected to last for at least three years while Amtrak undertakes a $1.6 billion project to rehabilitate tunnels heavily damaged by saltwater flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

While the work is seen as critical to fortifying Northeast Corridor infrastructure for future generations, critics warn the immediate impact could overwhelm alternative transit options and inconvenience thousands.

“It’s the same as doing roadwork. If they do it during the day it causes a traffic jam,” said commuter Robert Smith, 73, watching long lines of passengers board on Tuesday. “I’m just looking at the number of people going to Washington. It’s staggering. If the railway lines are going to be reduced — my gosh.”

Many riders worry that the changes undercut one of Amtrak’s key advantages: convenience. Angel Adu, a 27-year-old who relies on the train for long-distance trips, said the service has long been preferable to flying — until now.

“I already take the train because it’s more convenient than flying,” Adu said. “But if there are delays in the daytime it would kind of defeat the purpose of taking the train in the first place.”

The decision has also sparked political pushback. On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent a strongly worded letter to Amtrak President Anthony Coscia, demanding that the agency rethink its construction strategy.

“Enough is enough,” Hochul wrote. “It’s far past time for Amtrak to put its passengers first, take a hard look at its construction plans and ensure access to reliable train travel throughout this key corridor.”

Gov. Hochul’s office confirmed the state is investing $1.6 billion into the tunnel work, but expressed frustration that Amtrak continues to cut service despite delays and unmet commitments. She urged Amtrak to shift repair operations to nights and weekends or to increase train capacity to accommodate displaced passengers.

“While I continue to be supportive of the efforts to rehabilitate the East River Tunnels, the decision to maintain service cuts amidst this latest delay — and backtracking on public commitments to increase capacity during the shutdown — shows a disregard for Empire Service passengers,” she said.

Transportation officials echoed those concerns during a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) committee meeting on Monday. Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free warned that reduced Amtrak service could leave the entire transit system more vulnerable to disruptions.

“The greatest risk with this is that if something happens, something that’s mundane that happens every day that doesn’t cause a service disruption, with this type of outage it will exacerbate that type of incident and cause a service disruption we want to avoid,” Free said.

Marc Herbst, an MTA committee member, questioned whether Amtrak could even finish the work in the promised timeframe.

“I was hesitant and cynical about Amtrak’s ability to manage the repair timeline,” Herbst said. “If service needs to be cut, I think they’re probably going to keep their trains running before ours if there’s any problems.”

Amtrak, for its part, has called the project “vital” and positioned it as part of a long-term modernization effort that will strengthen the U.S. rail network well into the future.

“When complete, this project, as well as several others throughout the Northeast and nation, will benefit travelers and fortify our rail network for the first time in 100 years to last for the next 100 years,” Amtrak said in a statement.

The controversy also comes on the heels of a federal shake-up in Penn Station leadership. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump removed the MTA from overseeing a planned revamp of the station, handing control to Amtrak. The move raised eyebrows among local transit leaders and added further scrutiny to the railroad company’s growing role in New York’s infrastructure transformation.

As work begins, daily riders and regional stakeholders alike are bracing for what could be a long, disruptive three years of transit adjustments — with hopes that the promised long-term improvements will ultimately justify the present pain.

Originally reported by Haley Brown in New York Post.