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Audit of Amtrak uncovers problems

Role in Hudson tunnel project focus of review

By: Colleen Wilson
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Concerns about Amtrak's role in the Hudson River rail tunnel construction project, its system of tracking thousands of project documents, and a $104 million error were among the issues raised in an audit produced by the national passenger railroad's inspector general this month. [12/2025]
.... The 32-page report was the product of an 18-month review that included work from offices in four states, visits to construction sites, reviewing more than 650 documents and interviewing over 100 people involved in the $16 billion project to construct a new two-tube tunnel under the Hudson River and repair the existing two-track tunnel that is over 100 years old.
..... J.J Marzullo, assistant inspector general of audits for Amtrak's Office of Inspector Gen real, wrote that Amtrak has made "notable progress" in applying lessons learned from other capital projects, but also identified three key areas for improvement.
..... This is the largest federally funded project in U.S. history, and Amtrak is just one of several project partners. the others include NJ Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Gateway Development Commission, a desiccated delivery partner of consultants and multiple contractors.
..... Given this complexity, the report was completed in the early stages of the program to help Amtrak :sustain this progress over the life of the project' and "better safeguard its interest" in the long term, Marzullo wrote.
..... Construction of the new tunnel is not expected to be completed until 2035, and the rehabilitation of the old tunnel won't be done until 2038.
..... The report was addressed to Laura Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president of capital delivery, who agreed with suggestions in the report.

Defining Amtrak's Role

..... Amtrak's role in the overall program needs to be better defined, Marzullo said.
..... He offered to defining the extent to which Amtrak staff should be involved in certain projects and have access to risk register, which are used by project management teams to log, track and manage risks on projects.
..... Amtrak has a "unique role" in the tunnels project because it will own the new tunnel once built , Marzullo wrote. Despite that, Amtrak and other project partners have disagreed about how involved Amtrak needs to be projects it is not overseeing.
..... Though one such dispute has been resolved," "there is potential for future similar disputes," Marzullo wrote.
..... Plus Amtrak will be responsible for a third of some cost overruns on project it's not leading. Therefore, "greater visibility into project risk would improve their ability to plan mitigation strategies, anticipate their potential cost and schedule liabilities, and manage their responsibilities more effectively," the report said.

Audit finds $104 million refund

..... Another area where it said Amtrak should improve is involving all departments that may be required during planning and construction of the tunnel projects, Marzullo noted that Amtrak improved in this area by keeping its track outage teams in the loop but said it should have included the accounting and procurement departemnt.
..... For example, the audit team identified a financial matter unknown to Amtrak's term were it was supposed to be refunded $104 million, an issue that might have been caught if the accounting term had been more involved, the report said.
..... Another example identified by the audit team had to do with a contract that required Amtrak to purchase certain construction materials for equipping the new tunnel. those materials could take five years to get manufactured and delivered, but the procurement team was unaware of this responsibility and had not yet begun preparing for that purchase.

Tracking reams of documents

..... The last suggestion made by the audit team had to do with improving Amtrak's document management system. Thousands of documents will be generated for the tunnel projects and are being stored in a web-based document management system, but it is being inconsistently used, making it hard to find files.
..... After this issue was brought to Amtrak's attention, it hired someone dedicated to document management who will reorganize the system and published a guidance document to assist those using the system,

Lessons learned

,,,,, Over the years, Amtrak's Office of Inspector General had identified a number of mismanagement issues that have caused cost overruns or other costly errors on a variety of projects, leading to more expense and delays.
..... Marzullo said there have been noticeable improvements that should benefit the tunnels project in the long term.
..... Here are some examples of that progress:
* Amtrak acquired none real estate parcels needed for the project, and a 10th is on schedule to be acquired. those acquisitions to access the properties to prepare for upcoming work.
* A testing and commissioning plan for the new tunnel has already gone through a first draft even though it will be another four to six years before the tunnel's communication systems, train signals and ventilation plants will require testing for sue. The early planning is significant because this phase is "critical to the successful transition" to the new tunnel, the report said.
* Multiple Amtrak officials told auditors they believe that both Amtrak and the delivery partner, which is leading project management for the tunnels program, are succinctness staffed, which is a "significant improvement over prior projects in which we found that the company understaffed some programs with more than $100 million in spending," the report said.
..... These improvements are significant because just last year [2024] Amtrak's Office of Inspector General published a report showing how lackluster planning led to a shortage of required staff needed for the $2.3 billion Portal North Bridge project. The auditors also found there were not enough on-site inspectors or enough people on the Portal Bridge team to analyze cost data, causing a nine-month backlog of review. The additional labor increased Amtrak's costs by 140%.
..... At that time, Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president for capital delivery, told the audit team that the company planned to hire a director to improve coordination of plans for constitution schedules and budgets.

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