Posted Jun 24, 2026, 1:20 AM
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New Yorker for life
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 57,070
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https://media.amtrak.com/2026/06/amtrak-...ork-penn-station-transformation-project/
Amtrak and Penn Transformation Partners Sign Pre-Development Agreement for New York Penn Station Transformation Project
June 22, 2026
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mtrak and Penn Transformation Partners (PTP) today announced they have finalized a Pre-Development Agreement (PDA) for the historic overhaul of New York Penn Station. During the PDA phase, Amtrak, led by Special Advisor Andy Byford, and PTP, a joint venture led by Halmar and Skanska, will finalize the project’s design and gather stakeholder input, which will then inform and establish a firm, fixed price to deliver the work. The PDA marks a major milestone in transforming the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere into a new world-class station. The project is moving ahead on schedule and will break ground by the end of 2027.
The PDA phase will run from summer 2026 through 2027, which will include Amtrak and PTP conducting robust community engagement and provide ample opportunities for public comment.
“The momentum continues to transform New York Penn Station, and having a renowned partner in PTP officially onboard ensures the project will progress even further and faster while maintaining our record of meeting all deadlines on schedule,” said Byford. “New Yorkers just experienced a Knicks championship right above the station and we are committed to giving them something to be equally proud of within the same building where a banner will be raised.”
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The transformation of Penn Station is estimated to cost between $7 billion and $8 billion, with the final costs determined during the PDA phase. Byford has stated there will be no fare hikes or surcharges passed on to NJ TRANSIT, MTA, or Amtrak riders to pay for this project. The project will be funded primarily through federal funding, private financing, and equity raised by PTP.
Though a final cost has not been determined, cost control measures are already in place. The PDA phase costs are strictly capped before the final construction price is locked in. This is why bidders were asked to submit specific financial metrics during the procurement process to ensure the project will deliver the best use of taxpayer investments. This process is consistent with major construction projects worldwide and in the United States.
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https://gothamist.com/news/mta-chair-cal...plan-bizarre-declines-to-join-as-partner
MTA chair calls Amtrak's Penn Station planning 'bizarre,' declines to join as partner
By Ramsey Khalifeh
Jun 23, 2026
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MTA Chair Janno Lieber on Monday dismissed an offer by Amtrak special adviser Andy Byford for the state authority to become a “fully involved” partner in the Trump administration’s reconstruction of Penn Station — saying the federal government’s oversight of the project has been "bizarre" and has “the appearance of impropriety.”
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Lieber’s response indicated the MTA was prepared to hold up the renewal project. He laid out several concerns about how Amtrak selected the “master developer” to oversee the work and how construction would affect Long Island Rail Road operations at Penn Station.
“The MTA’s Long Island Rail Road and the MTA’s subways carry two-thirds of the daily users of Penn Station,” Lieber wrote. “Even more important, the LIRR has a prepaid lease running for another 160 years (through 2186) that gives us approval rights for any construction within or affecting the northern half of the station.”
“Even alterations outside our space may not ‘unduly burden train operations’ or ‘affect the structural integrity’ of our leasehold,” he added.
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Byford has said the reconstruction would not affect Penn Station’s new Seventh Avenue entrance and 33rd Street concourse built under Lieber’s direction over the last decade. In his letter on Monday, Byford laid out multiple attempts to get the MTA to sign a “memorandum of agreement” on the project, noting that NJ Transit had already signed on.
Lieber wrote in his response that “there’s no point in rebutting all the blah-blah” about those discussions and said the MTA would stick to its long-standing lease agreement to run service in the train hall. He accused Byford and Amtrak of “gamesmanship” by releasing his initial letter to the public.
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Lieber also noted that the MTA is “of course open to engaging with Amtrak, but without conditions.”
“Our duty is to protect the interests of thousands of MTA riders at Penn Station — and those of New York state taxpayers, who Amtrak and your chosen developer keep mentioning as potential funders,” he wrote.
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Last edited by NYguy; Jun 24, 2026 at 1:42 AM.
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