Amtrak says MTA not partnering on Penn Station design as new plans unveiled

A transformed Penn Station will include tall ceilings, wider track platforms, spacious new concourses, and plenty of sunlight, according to project details released Monday.

But Amtrak officials accused the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of refusing to partner on the effort, which they suggested would prevent Long Island Rail Road customers from getting the maximum benefits from the planned improvements.

Amtrak, which is leading the redevelopment of the 115-year-old station, previewed for reporters its plans for a reimagined Penn. Amtrak, working with the U.S. Department of Transportation, recently selected Halmar International and Skanska — doing business together as Penn Transformation Partners — to design and build the midtown Manhattan transit hub.

Although no price tag has been put on the effort, Department of Transportation spokesman Nathaniel Sizemore said on Monday that $8 billion was "the expected cost."

Project officials also confirmed on Monday that their plan entails acquiring and demolishing the 5,300-seat Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, which sits above Penn Station, so that a grand new train hall can be built in its place — effectively shifting what’s commonly considered Penn’s front entrance from Seventh Avenue to Eighth.

"Sometimes people refer to Eighth Avenue as the back of the station. It’s not the back of the station. It’s actually the center of the tracks," lead architect Vishaan Chakrabarti said. 

MSG officials did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson provided a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday acknowledging that it had entered into an agreement with Penn's developer "contemplating the transfer of the Infosys Theater at MSG ... subject to further negotiation."

Mitch Schwartz, senior adviser for policy and external relations for the MTA, said in a statement that the project officials would "charge New York taxpayers billions" to pay for the proposed improvements.

"Their position may have changed. Ours hasn't: we're not interested in that deal," Schwartz said.

Byford said the project would not result in fare increases for riders, and that the goal is for the effort to be largely funded by the federal government.

The Eighth Avenue train hall and a new customer concourse along 32nd Avenue will all contribute to 220,000 square feet of open space — more than what’s available at Grand Central Terminal, project officials said.

Chakrabarti also dismissed criticisms that President Donald Trump’s fingerprints will be all over the project, including in the form of bronze trimming — reminiscent of Penn's original design, he said — and a large presidential seal etched on a wall. "These presidential seals are [on] practically every federal building," he said.

Penn Station is the "busiest transportation hub in the western hemisphere, Chakrabarti said, used by 600,000 customers daily, including commuters on the LIRR, which runs more trains into and out of Penn than Amtrak or NJ Transit.

Project head Andy Byford said the MTA — the LIRR’s parent organizations — has so far "chosen not to fully participate" in the project, declining to sign on to be a project partner, as New Jersey Transit has already done.

The MTA was heading the Penn Station redevelopment effort until the Trump administration took over the project and handed it over to Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, a year ago.

Speaking about the project last month, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said the transit authority is "happy to be involved" but would not waive its existing rights under an existing long-term lease for operating in Penn.

"What we're saying is we have the rights under our lease, that you can't tear up our area or anything that affects our area," Lieber said. "We have been clear that we are fully prepared to participate, but we have not been allowed to do so to date."

Byford said partnering on the project would not compromise the MTA’s lease rights in any way, and would be to the benefit of LIRR riders.

Byford said "the door is still open" for the MTA to join on as a partner in the project.

"We all have a common interest here," said Byford, who praised the MTA’s recent improvement along the LIRR’s 33rd Street concourse at Penn. "But the LIRR users don't just only go up and down that corridor. ... So, let's put any sort of issues aside. ... Let's make this world class station a reality."