State and local elected officials joined with railroads on Monday to announce their support for the Penn Station Reconstruction as MTA and its railroad partners issued a Notice to Proceed on a plan to transform the transit hub.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the plan to turn the existing Penn Station into a world-class commuter and intercity transit hub was a vision all of the project’s partners agreed on.
“Penn Station is this hemisphere’s busiest transit hub, and New Yorkers deserve a world-class experience when they come to this station,” Governor Hochul said. “I am committed to driving this critical reconstruction project forward and continuing to work with our partners in the federal government to make our shared vision for a new Penn Station a reality.”
Hochul said fixing the station was a matter of urgency, with its existing deficiencies currently impeding safe and efficient movement of passengers, as well as underutilizing the property to its fullest.
“The project will dramatically upgrade passengers’ experience by increasing ceiling heights, bringing in natural daylight, and creating better wayfinding and access to platforms,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “This Notice to Proceed begins the process in which we will rebuild Penn Station responsibly and – most important – getting going before Metro-North service begins in just a few years.”
The state of New York has already committed $1.3 billion for the project. Additional funding is expected to come through cost-sharing among the railroads that use the station and through federal grant programs.