Amtrak

Penn Station needs expansion to boost train capacity, new report concludes

Photo courtesy of Fernando Sandoval/MW

October 3, 2024

Penn Station needs expansion to boost train capacity, new report concludes

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The only way to increase train capacity at Penn Station is to expand the Midtown Manhattan transit hub, a new report concludes. This week Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and NJ Transit released "Doubling Trans-Hudson Train Capacity at New York Penn Station," an engineering feasibility study exploring four concepts to double train capacity without expanding the station's size. Ultimately, none of these proposals were found feasible, marking a shift in focus towards options that would increase Penn Station's footprint.
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NJ lawmaker calls for riders to get refunds for Amtrak, NJ Transit delays

NJ Transit hall in Penn Station. Photo by Chris Rycroft on Flickr.

August 15, 2024

NJ lawmaker calls for riders to get refunds for Amtrak, NJ Transit delays

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A New Jersey official wants Amtrak and NJ Transit to refund riders when their travel plans are delayed or canceled. NJ Rep. Josh Gottheimer on Monday introduced the All Aboard Act, which includes a "Rail Passenger Bill of Rights" that guarantees refunds to riders experiencing transit disruptions, as reported by Gothamist. If passed, the legislation would require the rail company to invest in improving maintenance issues and service times. In the meantime, Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday announced NJ Transit trains and buses will be free for one week at the end of August to thank commuters for putting up with a summer of service problems.
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Amtrak and NJ Transit service in NYC disrupted again

NJ Transit hall in Penn Station. Photo by Chris Rycroft on Flickr.

June 21, 2024

Amtrak and NJ Transit service in NYC disrupted again

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It's been a rough week for Northeast Corridor commuters. New Jersey Transit and Amtrak service in and out of New York City was disrupted this morning for a third time this week. On Friday, a disabled train at Penn Station caused NJ Transit to suspend service and led to delays in Amtrak service. The delays came just hours after Amtrak suspended service on Thursday evening for over three hours due to power outages. Rail service on both lines was halted earlier in the week because of overhead wire issues and a disabled train on the tracks. As of this morning, Amtrak service is expected to resume by 1 p.m., with delays. Some NJ Transit trains were diverted to Hoboken.
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Penn Station opens new accessible entrance with glass canopy at 7th Ave and 32nd Street

All images courtesy of Fernando Sandoval/MW

November 20, 2023

Penn Station opens new accessible entrance with glass canopy at 7th Ave and 32nd Street

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Travelers will now have a much easier time entering Penn Station. The transit hub's busiest entrance at 7th Avenue and 32nd Street reopened on Sunday following a renovation led by Amtrak and Vornado Realty Trust. The passageway is now fully ADA-accessible, with a 50 percent wider entrance, a new elevator, two new escalators, and a new glass canopy designed by Norman Foster's Foster + Partners that replaces the original concrete overhang.
take a look
In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

President Biden hosted a press conference in NYC to discuss the Hudson River Tunnel Project on 1/31/23; Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

February 1, 2023

In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

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President Joe Biden made an appearance at Hudson Yards on Tuesday to announce a $292 million investment for a project that would fix a century-old rail tunnel and build a new one under the river between New York and New Jersey. The $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project is just one part of the broader $30 billion Gateway Project, which includes new bridges and the expansion of Penn Station. The funding announced by Biden will go toward a $649 million project that extends the concrete casing for the tunnels between Penn Station and the Hudson River before any work on the tunnels can actually begin.
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Amtrak launches direct service from NYC to Burlington, Vermont

Photo Credit: Amtrak / Hello Burlington

July 29, 2022

Amtrak launches direct service from NYC to Burlington, Vermont

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For New Yorkers looking for an escape from the city without dealing with traffic or chaos at the airport, Amtrak on Friday launched new train service from New York City to the city of Burlington, Vermont. The scenic trip takes around 7.5 hours and travels through the Hudson Valley, Green Mountains, and along Lake Champlain, with new stops in Middlebury and Ferrisburgh-Vergennes before ending in Burlington, a small city with New England charm and vibrant culture. It's the first time since 1953 that Amtrak service will connect New York City and Burlington.
Details this way
Hudson River rail tunnel project moves forward as NJ, NY reach agreement

Photo courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

July 6, 2022

Hudson River rail tunnel project moves forward as NJ, NY reach agreement

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Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey announced Tuesday that they've agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding that they would split the local portion of the cost of the long-stalled Gateway Project's Hudson River tunnels, the New York Times reports. The agreement on who would pay the $14 billion tab for the project's first phase is a step ahead in one of the nation's most ambitious infrastructure plans.
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Infrastructure bill will bring billions in funding for NYC transit projects and more

Photo courtesy of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

November 8, 2021

Infrastructure bill will bring billions in funding for NYC transit projects and more

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The long-awaited bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in the wee hours of last week's end will mean billions of dollars in much-needed investment in New York City's own infrastructure. The bill, which President Joe Biden has said he will sign this week, adds $550 billion to be spent on transportation, bringing the total to $1.2 trillion, as Gothamist reports. The New York City region will see that investment in the form of projects like the addition of subway station elevators, upgrades to Amtrak–and a revival of the long-stalled Gateway Project's Hudson River tunnels. Carlo Scissura, president and chief executive officer of the New York Building Congress, said, “It really does transform the physical part of our region in a way that we haven't had a federal investment like this in decades honestly.”
Find out more about the $$$$ headed for NYC
See what a renovated Penn Station could look like

View from 33rd Street, a shared space for pedestrians

April 22, 2021

See what a renovated Penn Station could look like

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A dark and cramped Penn Station could soon be replaced with a light-filled transit hub with more space for commuters. Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Wednesday two possible options for the reconstruction of the Midtown train station as part of his broader Empire Station Complex project, which would unify an upgraded Penn Station and the new Moynihan Train Hall. The interconnected station would increase train capacity at the site, which is considered the busiest in the country. It could serve 830,000 daily passengers by 2038, up from 600,000 the station served each day before the pandemic.
More here
Renderings released for massive Sunnyside Yard project that will bring 12,000 affordable apartments

All renderings by the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU)

March 5, 2020

Renderings released for massive Sunnyside Yard project that will bring 12,000 affordable apartments

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According to the master plan for the 180-acre Sunnyside Yard development in Queens, the former storage and maintenance hub for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, New Jersey Transit, and Long Island Rail Road will include 12,000 affordable apartments, making it the largest affordable housing development to be built in NYC since the middle-income Co-op City in the Bronx was completed in 1973 (h/t Wall Street Journal). The plan by the New York City Economic Development Corp. (EDC) outlines a $14.4 billion deck over the train yard on which the complex would be built. Half the housing in the development would be rental apartments for low-income families earning less than 50 percent of the area median income, with the other half set aside for affordable homeownership programs through Mitchell-Lama. The Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) was identified to lead the planning process, and they have just released renderings and maps of the massive development.
See them all here
Cuomo revives plan to overhaul Penn Station and create new Empire Station Complex

Rendering of new entrance on 8th Avenue to Penn Station via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office

January 6, 2020

Cuomo revives plan to overhaul Penn Station and create new Empire Station Complex

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is returning to one of his favorite infrastructure proposals: the overhaul of Penn Station. During an event on Monday hosted by the Association for a Better New York, the governor announced plans to build the Empire Station Complex, a station that would link a modernized Penn Station, the soon-to-be-open Moynihan Train Hall, and a new terminal one block south of the existing site. The plan, first introduced by the governor in 2016, would add eight new tracks and increase train capacity by 40 percent at the station, which currently serves more than 650,000 passengers each day.
See the updated plan
Partial shutdown of Hudson River tunnel would cause NY and NJ home values to drop by $22B, report says

Via Amtrak

February 27, 2019

Partial shutdown of Hudson River tunnel would cause NY and NJ home values to drop by $22B, report says

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If the only rail link between New Jersey and Manhattan shuttered, homes in the region would see a drop in home value by $22 billion, according to a report released on Tuesday. An analysis from the Regional Plan Association highlights the economic effects of a partial shutdown of the Hudson River tunnel, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy and carries 200,000 daily passengers via Amtrak and NJ Transit. To make repairs to the 110-year-old tunnels, officials have called for a $13 billion project that would construct a second tunnel to keep service operating while the existing tunnel is restored. But President Donald Trump's administration said it will not support the Gateway tunnel project, making a partial shutdown of the tunnel more likely, according to the RPA (h/t Crain's).
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First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

Rendering of Metropolitan Lounge via FXCollaborative

January 24, 2019

First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

By
New renderings, as well as additional details, were released this week of Amtrak's new amenity space in Moynihan Train Hall. ClubAcela is getting rebranded as the Metropolitan Lounge and moving across the street from Penn Station to the new train hall, which is set to open in early 2021. Designed by FXCollaborative, the sleek new space offers more room, private restrooms, free WiFi, and better food and drink options.
See the renderings
Amtrak engineers eye Cuomo’s L train fix for their own East River tunnel repairs

Via Flickr

January 7, 2019

Amtrak engineers eye Cuomo’s L train fix for their own East River tunnel repairs

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Amtrak is taking a close look at Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s possibly-disaster-averting new L train repair strategy as a "common sense solution" for their own damaged tunnels between Manhattan and Queens, the Daily News reports. The agency would, of course, subject the tunnel fix to more scrutiny before making a decision. Amtrak chairman Anthony Coscia said “It is important for us to do a thorough vetting so that we can determine now at this stage whether it’s a methodology that we could use. Because if it is, it will make the process far less painful to our travelers,” much like the new subway solution would allegedly be.
Could this make the Gateway Project obsolete?
Master planning for huge Sunnyside Yard project to begin this summer

Photo via NYCEDC

May 3, 2018

Master planning for huge Sunnyside Yard project to begin this summer

By
The master planning process for the Sunnyside Yard project, a mammoth plan to build a new, fully planned neighborhood to Queens, will begin this summer, the city announced Thursday. Along with Amtrak, the city's economic development corporation said it will form a steering committee made up of local leaders and planning experts who will organize meetings and workshops to gain feedback from local residents. The Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has officially been tapped to lead the planning process. A 2017 feasibility study found 70 acres of the 180-acre development would be viable for development. According to the city, the project could bring between roughly 11,000 and 15,000 new housing units and 15 to 20 acres of open space, new schools and retail amenities. About 3,300 to 4,500 new permanently affordable units could also be created. As of last year, the plan has an estimated price tag of $10 billion.
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Amtrak will reroute some trains from Penn Station to Grand Central this summer

Grand Central Terminal; image via Wikimedia

April 11, 2018

Amtrak will reroute some trains from Penn Station to Grand Central this summer

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Last year, when Amtrak first announced eight weeks of infrastructure repairs at Penn Station, all hell broke loose. Gov. Andrew Cuomo predicted the planned work would cause a "summer of hell" for commuters and even asked President Donald Trump for emergency federal funds. But, to the surprise of many, the disruption proved to be mild and the repairs even finished ahead of schedule. Promising another painless process, Amtrak announced on Tuesday plans for track work at Penn Station again this summer. From May 26 to Sept. 4, trains that run along the Hudson River will be routed from Penn Station to Grand Central. Schedules for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North trains will remain unaffected.
More details here
New Amtrak app helps you navigate through Penn Station’s chaos

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

December 14, 2017

New Amtrak app helps you navigate through Penn Station’s chaos

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If you've ever found yourself lost in a maze of corridors or trampled in a boarding stampede at Penn Station, help may have arrived in the form of yet another useful mobile app. Beginning this week, Amtrak will offer a free app, FindYourWay, that helps travelers–65,000 of whom pass through the station each day–find their way through the station and avoid the crush of crowds that form around electronic boards announcing train departures, the New York Times reports.
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Second phase of Penn Station track work will not bring a winter of hell

Amtrak workers setting concrete on track 10 at Penn Station this summer, image via Amtrak

November 14, 2017

Second phase of Penn Station track work will not bring a winter of hell

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Amtrak announced on Monday its plan for the second phase of track renewal projects for Penn Station, set to begin this winter. Between January 5 and May 28 of next year, there will be continuous single-track closures, affecting Amtrak and commuter train operation at the Midtown transit hub. While similar to the infrastructure repairs that took place for eight weeks this past June, dubbed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the “summer of hell,” the impact will be less severe for commuters and most of the work will take place on the weekends.
More here
After four years, TF Cornerstone files plans for 1,200-unit building at Hunters Point South

Updated rendering of parcel c for Hunters Point South, courtesy of ODA Architecture

October 20, 2017

After four years, TF Cornerstone files plans for 1,200-unit building at Hunters Point South

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TF Cornerstone on Thursday filed its first permits for a 1,200-unit apartment building as the second phase of the city’s Hunters Point South redevelopment, a project that first began in 2013. The plan for the waterfront neighborhood in Long Island City, Queens called for a mixed-use, affordable housing development that would hold up to 5,000 units, with 60 percent of them affordable. Selected for phase two of the ambitious project by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, TF Cornerstone’s original proposal was delayed for four years after local, state and federal authorities forced the developer to rethink its design (h/t Crain's).
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Penn Station’s foul bathrooms will get much-needed upgrades

Photo via Kev Harb on Flickr

September 8, 2017

Penn Station’s foul bathrooms will get much-needed upgrades

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After announcing the official end of the “summer of hell” last week, Amtrak said the next thing on their to-do list is to finally fix the disgusting and dilapidated bathrooms at Penn Station. Both men’s and women’s bathrooms at the busiest transit center in the country will be refurbished beginning this fall, as the New York Times reported.
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Not-so-hellish repairs at Penn Station finish ahead of schedule

Amtrak workers setting concrete on track 10 at Penn Station, image via Amtrak

September 1, 2017

Not-so-hellish repairs at Penn Station finish ahead of schedule

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Amtrak announced on Thursday that the eight weeks of infrastructure repairs at Penn Station predicted to be the “summer of hell” by Governor Cuomo, have officially ended ahead of the scheduled Monday deadline (h/t WNYC). Following a series of train derailments and system failures, Amtrak began repairing and replacing tracks in July. Over 360 workers installed six football fields worth of track and 176 yards of concrete this summer, according to Amtrak. While regular transit operations at Penn Station will resume Sept. 5, more repair work will continue through June 2018, with most of the work taking place on the weekends.
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The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

Photo via Kev Harb via Flickr

August 25, 2017

The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

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The emergency Penn Station repairs that began in July will be completed on time with regular operating service resuming on Sept. 5, Amtrak announced Thursday. After delays and a few train derailments, Amtrak closed 21 tracks at Penn earlier this summer. Nearly seven weeks of the eight scheduled weeks of repair work for this “summer of hell” have been completed thus far.
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Here’s what will change as the ‘summer of hell’ for commuters begins
July 10, 2017

Here’s what will change as the ‘summer of hell’ for commuters begins

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Eight weeks of infrastructure repairs at Penn Station officially began Monday, affecting commuters using the Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. Amtrak will close some of the station’s 21 tracks for renovations, which will force the MTA to cancel or divert 15-weekday trains between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Overall, there will be a 20 percent reduction in the number of trains to Manhattan from NJ and Long Island. To minimize the impact on riders, the MTA has offered discounted fares and transit alternatives like ferry and bus service (h/t NY Times).
Find out how your commute will be affected
Grand Central will temporarily restore intercity rail service for the first time in 26 years
July 6, 2017

Grand Central will temporarily restore intercity rail service for the first time in 26 years

By
Ahead of repair work set to begin at Penn Station next week, Amtrak said it will reroute some trains each weekday to Grand Central Terminal. For the first time since 1991, passengers will use the iconic Beaux-Arts terminal to reach destinations along the Hudson River Valley, like Rhinecliff, Hudson and Albany. As the New York Times reported, Amtrak will reroute six of their Empire Service trains to Grand Central instead of Penn Station from July 10 to Sept. 1.
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Governor Cuomo and the MTA announce a competition to fix the NYC subway system

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr

May 24, 2017

Governor Cuomo and the MTA announce a competition to fix the NYC subway system

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Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr Seeking innovative solutions to fix the mess that is the New York City transit system, Governor Cuomo on Tuesday launched a competition called the “MTA Genius Transit Challenge.” Just one of the governor’s recently proposed ideas to fix the subway, the international competition challenges participants to develop ideas for better signaling, new car designs, and WiFi throughout the system, including in tunnels. The winner of each category will receive $1 million and a possible contract deal with the state. In addition to the challenge, Cuomo announced he has created a Penn Station Task Force to devise alternative transportation solutions during Amtrak’s track work at the station this summer.
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