New York Penn Station expansion set to proceed
Written by Douglas John BowenA Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PA) executive on Tuesday said a contract for the first phase of expanding New York's Pennsylvania Station, targeted to cost $270 million, would be awarded Wednesday.
Executive Director Pat Foye said the PA would oversee the construction, designed to benefit Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and in the future perhaps even Metro-North Railroad by expanding terminal capacity.
The Moynihan Station Project, currently estimated to cost at least $1 billion, would expand Penn Station into Manhattan’s famed Post Office Building across the street (sporting the famous Herodotus quote beginning “Neither rail nor sleet nor gloom of night”). The Post Office building was designed by architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, which also designed the original Penn Station.
The first phase is limited to access improvements, both underground (including under Eighth Avenue) and from street level. Completion is slated for 2016.
Penn Station is by far the busiest station stop on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman recently noted that, when including Amtrak and all regional railroad riders on the NEC, roughly two-thirds begin or end their trip at Penn-New York.
