Amtrak plans first 1-seat train ride between Long Island and mainland U.S.

Amtrak plans to launch a service that would create the first one-seat train ride between Long Island and the mainland United States.

Officials at the national railroad laid out the idea during their May 22 board meeting, saying they wanted to add a new spur to the Northeast Corridor that redirects trains along a stretch of Long Island Rail Road tracks.

Under the proposal, three daily off-peak Amtrak trains heading east out of Penn Station would run to Ronkonkoma instead of rolling over the Hell Gate Bridge up to New England. Additionally, three westbound trains would run from Ronkonkoma to Washington, D.C. — a five-hour journey, according to the proposal.

Amtrak officials said the new service would also stop at Jamaica Terminal and Hicksville. It would not launch until at least 2030.

Nicole Bucich,  vice president network development at Amtrak, said there’s demand for a one-seat railroad ride from Long Island to not just the nation’s capital, but also to Philadelphia and New Jersey.

“ We're not just competitive, we're probably faster and we're getting people to the center of the city,” Bucich said.

While it's just a modest expansion of commuter train service to and from Long Island, the new route could be a step toward addressing some of the region’s biggest passenger railroad problems.

A one-seat ride between the Garden State and Long Island has evaded transportation planners since 1910, when Penn Station opened along with new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson and East rivers. Riders who want to travel between the two locales have ever since been forced to switch trains at Penn Station, according to LIRR historian David Morrison.

The idea of integrating the region’s passenger rail has picked up steam in recent months as the Trump administration put Amtrak in charge of the long-stalled Penn Station redevelopment, and appointed former NYC Transit President Andy Byford to lead the effort.

Byford has previously expressed support for “through-running,” or combining NJ Transit and LIRR into a single, integrated service that doesn’t require trains to stop at Penn Station and turn around. He testified during a 2023 Zoom meeting held by the advocacy group ReThinkNYC that the option would allow for more NJ Transit service at Penn without requiring the station’s expansion.

“We believe such an effort is a positive step and shows an openness to overcoming the style of system integration hurdles presented by a broader through-running initiative,” ReThinkNYC chair Sam Turvey said of Amtrak's new plan.

Amtrak officials said they’ve discussed the idea for the Ronkonkoma service with elected officials on Long Island, but confirmed they’re moving forward with the project for the first time during last month’s board meeting. The service — which would not require the construction of new stations or major track routes — is one of 69 corridors identified by the federal government in December as candidates for additional Amtrak service.

Amtrak officials said they’re awaiting a federal grant of up to $500,000 to pay for a technical analysis on how to run the service.

The new route would require cooperation with the MTA, which owns the LIRR tracks that Amtrak wants to use. The pitch comes as the two agencies are fighting publicly over Amtrak’s recent shutdown of East River Tunnels that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The work is slated to last at least three years, and the MTA has argued Amtrak should only close them on nights and weekends so as to not interrupt LIRR service that relies on the tubes.

Bucich said Amtrak’s Ronkonkoma service can’t launch until the tunnel repairs are finished. She also noted the launch would require the delivery of the agency’s new Airo trains, which can run both on electrified catenary rail and diesel power.

Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams explained that while the LIRR tracks are fully electrified between Penn Station and Ronkonkoma, the “electrification is third rail, whereas our current trains run on overhead wires.”

The MTA for its part wants to ensure that its 50 daily LIRR trips to Ronkonkoma aren’t affected by the new service.

“We are working with Amtrak on its study,” said MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan.

Gerard Bringmann, who represents the Long Island Railroad Commuter Council on the MTA board, was cautiously optimistic about the idea.

“ I think it's great that they're considering bringing the service out there to Ronkonkoma,” said Bringmann. ”Whether there is going to be enough passengers to make it worth their while, remains to be seen.”

The project could also lay the groundwork for a pie-in-the-sky high speed rail pitch, which aims to create a new 100-minute train connection between New York City and Boston. The proposal — backed by a group of advocates, labor groups and local chamber of commerce leaders — centers on a proposed tunnel under the Long Island Sound between Ronkonkoma and MIlford, Connecticut.

Amtrak said it studied that high speed route in 2017, but decided it was not worth pursuing.

“ It was eliminated from further consideration because of many reasons, cost, environmental impact and so on,” Bucich said.

Correction: An  earlier version of this story misstated where Andy Byford testified about NJ Transit service at Penn Station. His comments were made during a 2023 meeting with the group ReThinkNYC.