US Sen. Charles Schumer is asking the feds to hand over $550 million in yet-unclaimed Sandy-relief funds to Amtrak so the agency can make direly needed repairs to the beleaguered East River rail tunnels.

Amtrak had hoped to collect several hundred million dollars needed for the repairs from insurance policies it had in place during the 2012 superstorm. But US District Judge Jed Rakoff last

month capped the amount that Amtrak can collect at $125 million instead of the $700 million it said it needed.

Amtrak plans to appeal the ruling, but that could take years and it needs to move on the repairs now, Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement Monday.

He wants the feds to take money from the massive kitty it set aside for superstorm-related damage and give it to Amtrak.

“The repair of the East River tunnels — which is the vital link for [Long Island Rail Road] commuters, as well as for Amtrak and NJ Transit — simply cannot wait for an Amtrak insurance appeal process to arrive,” he said. “This project is too important to our regional economy and to hundreds of thousands of commuters. Any delay in this project will not only mean more

disruptions in these critical tunnels but could also delay East Side access, countless commuters, and potentially stall a critical national priority.”

Schumer is asking Amtrak to sign a letter promising to pay back to the federal government any additional money it gets from insurance years down the line.

Amtrak owns the four East River tunnels. It uses them for its Northeast Corridor service. It also shares them with the MTA, which uses them for its LIRR service, and New Jersey Transit, which uses them to access a rail yard in Sunnyside, Queens.

The superstorm left the tunnels inundated with salt water, causing the already antiquated passageways to rapidly deteriorate.

Schumer is also working with Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Christie to get funds to rebuild the Hudson River rail tunnels, which were also seriously damaged during Superstorm Sandy and have suffered several cable failures in recent months, often causing major commute delays.