Question

The first train took twenty-six minutes to complete the route, which ran from City Hall to West 145th Street "in under a half an hour."
Which of the following alternatives to the quoted portion would NOT be acceptable?

NO CHANGE
in the completion of its route.
in twenty-six minutes.
DELETE the quoted portion and end the sentence with a period.

Answers should be complete and with an explanation.

Answer 1

No change  because the sentence is repeating its self but is just using different words. 

Answer 2

This option would be no change because if you don't change it the paragraph in itself would not make much sense.
hope this helps!