Name of the Project
Penn Station redevelopment project.

Location
New York City, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Amtrak and NJ Transit (NJT).

Project Description
Penn Station is the busiest rail transportation facility in the US. It served an estimated 600 000 passengers a day before the Covid-19 pandemic; however, it is outdated, overcrowded and functions poorly.

MTA, Amtrak and NJT plan to transform Penn Station into a world-class, twenty-first-century transportation hub.

The project comprises the Penn Station reconstruction and the Penn Station expansion.

The Penn Station reconstruction will unify the separate railroads’ concourses into one state-of-the-art, open, light-filled space.

It also needs to be expanded and reconfigured to accommodate the long-awaited Hudson tunnel and gateway programmes, which will allow for the railroads to significantly increase the number of trains and passengers using the station.

Two development approaches have been proposed for the project.

Two-level approach
The first approach leverages the existing configuration, retaining the two existing boarding levels while improving the station’s layout. This approach expands public circulation areas on both levels, with a two- and three-storey central atrium and a circulation area at the east end of the lower level, with more circulation space than the Great Hall at Grand Central Station.

New entrances will be added at 31st and 33rd streets at the former taxiway between Madison Square Garden (MSG) and 2 Penn Plaza. Some of Amtrak’s space will be repurposed for NJT’s commuters and operations. Ceiling heights will be increased in portions of the station, but will remain low in much of the lower level.

The single-level alternative could also be combined with a grand new entrance on Eighth avenue and the light-filled West train ball built in the space currently occupied by MSG’s 5 600-seat Hulu theatre.

One-level approach
The one-level approach proposes to transform Penn Station into an open, single concourse level. It also creates new circulation areas larger than the Great Hall at the east and west ends of the station, and removes portions of the upper level above the public circulation, so that all public concourses will be two or three storeys high.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
MTA, tel +1 212-878 7000. Amtrak media relations New York, tel +1 212 630 6933 or email MediaRelationsNYC@Amtrak.com.
NJ Transit, tel +1 973 491 7000.