Works Begins on Penn Station Entrance Project

Amtrak said this week it has begun work on a project at Penn Station in New York City to improve accessibility to the station entrance at Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street.

Work includes adding an elevator that complies with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and widening the entrance.

The stairs and two existing escalators will be replaced with three escalators.

The new entrance design is being funded by a public-private partnership between Amtrak and Vornado Realty Trust. Vornado is building a new skylit canopy above the entrance and integrating it with an office building expansion above it,

The project is expected to be completed in early 2024.

NY Penn Station Entrance Being Rebuilt

Work has begun to add an elevator at New York Penn Station to make it more the station more accessible.

The elevator at the 7th Avenue and 32nd Street entrance will meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards as well as help passengers who have wheeled luggage, strollers and other heavy items.

The entrance will be widened and the project when completed will replace a stairway and two escalators with three transit-grade escalators.

Amtrak said the design of the entrance is part of a public-private partnership with Vornado Realty Trust.

Plans involve creating a new canopy above the entrance and integrating it with a renovated 7th Avenue Plaza and Penn 2 office building expansion.

Construction is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Penn Station Expansion Finance Pact Reached

A agreement on a financial framework for expansion of New York’s Penn Station has been reached between the state and city.

The Penn Station expansion is also being billed as having the potential to provide an economic boost to the area around the station.

In a news release, the state said the agreement calls for a shared city-state governance entity to oversee public realm improvements and ensure coordinated planning and implementation of the project.

Funding from privately financed development will help pay for a reconstructed Penn Station, its potential expansion and improvements to the surrounding area that the city-state governance entity will oversee.

The state will sell development rights to private developers and collect payments-in-lieu-of-taxes on newly constructed, modern and environmentally friendly office and residential buildings.

The amount of PILOT payments collected in excess of existing property taxes, in addition to revenue from the sale of additional development rights, will help to fund the project.

Remaining costs will be funded through a combination of sources from the federal government, New Jersey, New York State, Amtrak and other public funding sources.

Penn Station Design Contract Awarded

A contract to perform a preliminary design for the expansion of New York Penn Station has been awarded to engineering, design and consulting firm Arup, Amtrak said this week.

News reports indicated that the options to be reviewed include a track-level addition north and south of the existing station; a deep cavern station underneath the existing station, and an option to run through trains between commuter operators where technology allows it.

Arup will create concepts that are part of a federal environmental review for the project.

The design work is expected to take two years to complete and cost $73 million.

Amtrak is working with New Jersey Transit and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the project, which is part of the Gateway project that will increase track capacity into Penn Station from the west.

Penn Station Redesign Proposals Sought

Proposals are being sought for reconstruction of New York’s Penn Station.

The project would cost up to an estimated $7 billion and take up to six years once construction begins.

A highlight of the project is modernizing the station’s concourses and boarding platforms. Also envisioned is an expansion of track and platform capacity.

The station’s master plan calls for creation of a main concourse on the east side of the station that would be larger than those of the Moynihan Train Hall and Great Hall of Grand Central Terminal combined.

Other work includes doubling the ceiling height of the public concourses; establishing clear sight lines to platform entrances to provide intuitive travel paths through the station; increasing the number of stairs, escalators and elevators to the station’s 11 platforms by 33 percent; and improving and enlarging pedestrian entrances.

The station is used by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and MTA New York City Transit.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking proposals from architecture and engineering firms for the project.

NYC Penn Station Entrance Partly Closed

Work began May 2 at New York Penn Station to improve the facility’s accessibility. The 18-month project will create an accessible entrance to the station.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said that during the project the station entrance at 32nd Street and 7th Avenue will be partly closed.

There will be no “up” escalator at that entrance. Those needing an “up” escalator should follow signs to the New Jersey Transit exit nearby.

The project will add an elevator, widen the entrance, replace the stairs, and replace the two existing escalators with three transit grade escalators.

Penn Station Renovation Outlined

New York officials have revealed options to redevelop New York Penn Station as part of the proposed $16 billion Empire Station Complex.

Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit are working to together to establish a plan to unify the separate railroads’ concourses into one space.

This project would new tracks and platforms to accommodate growing ridership, expected to increase by 54 percent to 830,000 daily users by 2038.

The first step in project is to rebuild the station’s existing Penn Station layout. That would involve  creating a central atrium and giving NJ Transit some space now used by Amtrak.

However, officials said they are also considering creating an open, single-level concourse that would eliminate all low ceiling heights.

This work would simplify entry and exit routes from trains and the street level while also creating new large circulation areas bigger than the Great Hall of Grand Central Terminal.

Penn Station Project Part of NY Infrastructure Plan

A $306 billion infrastructure plan announced this week by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo includes funding for a reconstruction of New York City’s Penn Station.

The Penn Station project would build on the development of the Moynihan Train Hall that opened across the street from the station on Jan. 1.

Under the governor’s plans, the $16 billion Penn Station project would involve rebuilding the existing station and adding track capacity as part of developing the Empire Station Complex.

“By acquiring property south of Penn Station, we can expand the complex to 40 percent more train capacity and at least eight additional underground tracks to cut down on delays and improve operations for the more than 600,000 [daily] passengers.” Cuomo said in a statement.

The Penn Station project is part of a $51 billion, transit-oriented development in Midtown Manhattan that includes state acquisition of a block south of Penn Station that would allow adding eight tracks to be added to the 21 existing tracks.

The proposal also includes two new Hudson River tunnels, part of the Gateway project, and renovation of the existing tunnels.

Amtrak OIG Cites, Planning, Oversight Issues in Moynihan Train Hall Project in New York City

Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General said this week that planning and oversight problems in the initial stages of Amtrak’s development of Moynihan Train Hall in New York City have led to $72.8 million in cost increases.

The OIG reports said completion of the project could be extended beyond its late 2020 target date.

The work is converting the James A. Farley Post Office building into a transportation center located adjacent to Penn Station.

The project cost has been put at $1.6 million and Amtrak’s initial $106 million share has increased by 69%, according to the OIG report.

The report faulted Amtrak for its failure to include into its projections such elements as design costs, construction management, and information technology.

OIG said in a news release that the problems “are another example of a longstanding pattern of program management challenges the OIG has reported on extensively.”

NY Penn Station Waiting Area Renovated

Amtrak said it has completed the first phase of a renovation of its waiting area for ticketed passengers at Penn Station in New York.

The waiting area is located on the Amtrak Concourse on the Upper Level and 8^th Avenue side of the Station.

The project involved installation of new furniture including seats with electrical and USB outlets to charge devices, an upgraded ceiling complete with new LED lighting, a new information desk and a second entrance in close proximity to the New Jersey Transit concourse, offering access towards the 7^th Avenue side of the station.

A second phase of the $7.2 million project is underway and is expected to be completed by fall this year.

A temporary space to accommodate passengers during the construction will be near Tracks 13 and 14.

The renovation of the waiting areas began in 2017 as part of a plan to modernize Amtrak stations in the Northeast Corridor.

Other completed work to date includes the new LED lighting in the rotunda area, renovated restrooms, upgraded air conditioning, new furniture in the ClubAcela lounge and rebuilding of the tracks and other infrastructure.