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Amtrak will be taking over renovations at New York's Penn Station. That's according to a letter sent by the Federal Railroad Administration late Thursday. The station has already undergone a partial renovation, but a more wide-scale plan had been discussed for years without any movement. From member station WNYC in New York, Stephen Nessen reports.
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STEPHEN NESSEN, BYLINE: Penn Station is the busiest train hub in the Western Hemisphere. More than 600,000 people a day pass through it via three different railroads. There's the MTA, which runs the subway there, and the Long Island Railroad. It recently completed a renovation of its section of the train hall, with a taller ceiling with blonde wood paneling, new entrances and large, blue panel lights. The New Jersey Transit and Amtrak sides of the terminal, in contrast, are a rat maze of low-slung ceilings and confusing corridors with dingy lighting.
Until yesterday, the three agencies had been cooperating on plans to both upgrade the other sections of the train hall and expand the number of tracks underground to meet the increased demand from riders, but that appears to be over. In a letter, the Federal Railroad Administration says Amtrak will now be the lead agency when it comes to redeveloping Penn Station. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed the MTA, writing that its history of inefficiency, waste and mismanagement meant it had to step aside. Tom Wright is with the transit think tank the Regional Plan Association and says the Penn Station overhaul has been stalled for years.
TOM WRIGHT: You know, the MTA had real success with the renovation of the Long Island Rail Road Concourse, but things haven't been moving forward lately as the railroads have had kind of competing demands. And from my perspective, Penn Station is owned by Amtrak, the federal government, and it makes sense for them to be leading the renovation plans.
NESSEN: In a statement, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York says she's had several meetings with President Trump, asking for more federal funds for Penn Station. She thanked the Feds for covering the cost of what could be a $7 billion overhaul. She called it a major victory for New Yorkers. Commuter Alison Chapin from Hoboken, New Jersey, was passing through Penn Station on Friday and says she doubts one agency can complete the work alone.
ALISON CHAPIN: My first thought was, it would be really great if the MTA and Amtrak and the state and federal government could just work together to do the right thing for all of the riders and the passengers.
NESSEN: Two of the biggest challenges that have bedeviled Penn Station developers - what to do with the sports and concert arena on top of the train hall - Madison Square Garden - and how to expand tracks belowground without demolishing a city block aboveground. For NPR News, I'm Stephen Nessen in New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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