Readers Write: Cuomo’s MTA plans have hiccups

The Island Now

Gov. Andrew Cuomo boasting of future benefits for LIRR riders when the $1.6 billion Penn Station Amtrak Moynihan Train Hall project is completed and opens is questionable. 

Just as bad, is the LIRR spending thousands of dollars on hundreds of billboards promoting these alleged benefits on station platforms system wide.  Remember the Phase One $300 million Penn Station West End Concourse which opened in June 2017.  It is still missing a seating area and rest rooms. (Were they afraid the homeless would invade this facility.)  There are only three new ticket vending machines which do not accept cash. 

There are significant issues missing from the Moynihan Train Hall project, which Cuomo fails to address. Besides 260,000 daily LIRR riders, there are 100,000 New Jersey Transit commuters who also use Penn Station. Partial financing for the $1.6 billion comes from a federal $550 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act  loan.

The loan is to be paid back by revenues generated from private sector investments with shortfalls covered by the MTA. The Empire State Development Corporation is using sale of air rights over the Farley Building as the source for its $570 million contribution.  If the sale generates less than anticipated, the shortfall will have to be made up by the MTA via taxpayers and riders. 

The detailed construction schedule and budget has never been shared with the public to justify the promised December 2020 completion date. The project fails to add any new track or platform capacity for Amtrak, NJ Transit, LIRR or future Metro North service. These improvements are necessary to accommodate thousands of new riders and additional trains during rush hours.  

Creation of the new Moynihan Train Hall ticket office and renovated platforms below the Farley Building between 8th and 9th Avenue sounds great on paper.  More LIRR riders continue to purchase tickets via Mail & Ride, ticket vending machines or various apps.  In 2017, the MTA awarded a contract for $573 million to Cubic Transportation Systems to replace the Metro Card. 

In coming years, new fare collection technology will be coming on line for both subway and commuter rail riders.  The concept of staffed ticket windows and offices may go the way of the dinosaurs.  The Moynihan Train Hall will only benefit a minority of LIRR riders whose destinations are west of 8th Avenue or utilize the 8th Avenue A, C and E subways.

A majority of riders exit to destinations east of 7th Avenue.  This includes using the No. 1, 2 and 3 subways (some transferring at Times Square for either the shuttle or No. 7 subway to access Grand Central Terminal) or walking to Herald Square (to access the B, D. F, N, R, Q and W subway lines or PATH).

LIRR trains arriving and departing from platform space farther west in Penn Station will result in longer walks for a majority of riders coming east of 7th Avenue.  Many would argue that this is a wasteful investment. LIRR riders would prefer that these monies be spent on basic track, interlockings, power and signal maintenance at Penn Station and East River tunnels rather than a new ticket office and waiting area.

Better track, interlockings, power and signal maintenance scheduled on a more frequent basis might help avoid increasing number of train delays and cancellations. LIRR riders would tell you that it is a higher priority than any new Penn Station ticket office and waiting room.

Missing is a key low-cost option that could benefit tens of thousands of riders. Until the 1970s, both LIRR and NJ Transit riders exiting east at Penn Station had a direct underground passageway known as the Hilton Corridor. It was also known as the Gimbel’s passageway. This provided a simple indoor connection to the 34th Street Herald Square subway and PATH station complex. 

It could be rebuilt in several years for $150 million versus $11.8 billion (perhaps up to $12 billion based upon the amended Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement with the MTA) for MTA LIRR Eastside Access to Grand Central Terminal.

Reopening this passageway would provide access to midtown east several years prior to MTA/LIRR Eastside Access. Current project schedule calls for service to begin in December 2022. Don’t be surprised when MTA announces yet another round of delays and new recovery schedule. This could result in LIRR service to Grand Central Terminal starting in 2023 or 2024.

Cuomo never rides the LIRR which is why he has a poor understanding of what commuters really desire. 

Larry Penner

(Larry Penner is a transportation historian, advocate and writer who previously worked 31 years for the US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office) 

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