NY Penn Station Revision Seen with Biden’s Infrastructure Pressure

Commuters and travelers inside and outside Pennsylvania Station in New York may have more stairs and escalators, expansive corridors, raised ceilings and bright, natural light as they pick up trains and subways.

It is the vision to transform Penn Station into a 21st-century transportation hub set out by officials at a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday. The rebuilt station, called the Empire Station Complex, will serve 830,000 daily users in 2038, compared to 600,000 before the pandemic, according to the government of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The transportation center will serve the Gateway project, which U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he was giving because of his priority significance for the national economy. This will double the rail capacity between New Jersey and downtown Manhattan by building a new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitating an existing tube.

The plan to transform Penn Station comes as President Joe Biden urges Congress to consider a $ 2 billion infrastructure package that includes money for transportation needs across the United States.

“Penn Station speaks so powerfully about the climate goals and equity goals that the Biden government has set out so strongly,” Janno Lieber, chief executive officer of MTA, said during the agency’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday.

Penn Station currently serves Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the MTA subway system and its Long Island Railroad. MTA plans to also expand the Metro North Railroad service, which connects the city with its northern suburban communities, at Penn Station as well.

Returns show a new Penn Station that is unrecognizable to the current facility, with corridors doubling the current width, raised ceilings, significantly more natural light and extensive access roads. Increasing the number of stairs, escalators and elevators will significantly improve the way passengers move through the station, Lieber said.

“The Empire Station Complex is a transformative project that will support and enhance the long-delayed Gateway vision for the entire East Coast and enhance the passenger experience in North America’s busiest transportation hub,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Officials will now consider two different alternatives for the station, a single-level design or a two-level construction.

Cuomo and officials from the MTA, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak and New York congressional representatives plan to raise money for the Gateway program and the reconstruction and expansion of Penn Station.