Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Monday a proposal to create a 21st-century transit complex in Manhattan, which includes adding four platforms and eight tracks to Penn Station.
“For over a century, New York’s transportation infrastructure drove our growth, especially in New York City, and after decades of idle talk without any real action, we are once again investing in large public projects to support a stronger economy,” Cuomo said during a speech at the Association for a Better New York. “We’ve built more than any state in the nation, and now we are taking another big step to address one of the weakest links in our transit system.”
According to Cuomo, adding eight additional tracks to the existing 21, 500-foot long tracks in Penn Station will increase overall track capacity by nearly 40 percent, serving 175,000 people each day.
The additional tracks are part of a plan to create the Empire Station Complex, which includes the construction of larger terminals for public transportation, expansion in and around Penn Station, and the Moynihan Train Hall.
Cuomo said that this proposal will improve the daily commutes of 650,000 New Yorkers who use public transportation. The plan also involves the state purchasing a block of properties just south of Penn Station.
According to the plan, Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, will aid in the planning and financing of the project.
Additionally, Cuomo said that the New York City-based architectural firm FXCollaborative will spearhead the design for a transformed Penn Station, along with the state, Amtrak and other stakeholders.
Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have shown immediate support of Cuomo’s proposal, citing other ongoing projects such as the LIRR Expansion and East Side Access in doing so.
“I applaud the governor’s bold vision to increase capacity and transform Penn Station as we work to encourage greater use of mass transit with the nation’s first-ever program for Central Business District Tolling,” MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye said.
“With the completion of East Side Access, the LIRR Expansion Project and the Penn Access project that will bring direct Metro-North service to west midtown Manhattan, this is exactly the type of forward-thinking leadership and investment we need,” MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber said.
Cuomo’s plan did not go into specifics on its funding and timetable, but he did say that a general project plan will be put in place and that he intends to work with all local community stakeholders, civic groups, affected property owners, elected officials and other organizations throughout the project’s planning.
Larry Penner, who spent 31 years as an employee of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, described potential financing issues that Cuomo may face during the planning stages.
Penner said the potential addition of four platforms and eight new train tracks at Penn Station mirrors the yet-to-be-funded Gateway Tunnel project. The initial costs of the project were $5 billion, but then later exceeded $29 billion.
Penner said that the cost to do the same for the MTA and LIRR would be billions more as current track connections by the LIRR can only access existing tracks 21 to 13.
He also said that the MTA has yet to obtain various funds for several tunnel and bridge improvements, and funding is falling short in the proposed $51 billion five-year capital plan from 2020-2024.
