Long Awaited Penn Station Reconstruction to Break Ground by End of 2027
Despite the much-needed reconstruction of Penn Station, the project has remained in limbo for several years. In April 2025 it was announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and federally chartered corporation Amtrak, that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) was taking control of the overhaul from New York State-run Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA). Although Amtrak owns the station, the core of its operations are in the new Moynihan Train Hall, while New Jersey Transit and the MTA utilize the majority of the space. British transport executive Andy Byford, which served as president of New York City Transit (NYCT) for a period of time under the Cuomo administration, earning the nickname “Train Daddy,” in 2023 he joined Amtrak as the senior vice president for high-speed rail development and will serve as special advisor on the Penn Station project. According to the article by Crain’s New York, the yet-to-be announced project’s cost “will be determined by the developers’ proposed designs;” and it was suggested by officials that although open to all proposals, the would “focus on ideas for improving Penn Station within its existing footprint, such as creating a light-filled, single-level concourse, rather than the further-off goal of expanding its rail capacity by adding platforms.” Two private developers that plan to submit bids — Halmar International and Grand Penn community Alliance, “have called for widening concourses and adding entrances to ease crowding;” and although similar plans by the MTA are now-dormant, when asked by reporters “whether the authority’s years of planning for a Penn Station renovation were for naught,” Byford responded “that the MTA itself could put in their own bid.” Vornado Realty Trust, which controls the retail within the station as part of its Penn 1 building located directly above Penn Station, recently completed the reimaging of 150,000 square feet of retail including the Long Island Rail Road concourse, creating an elevated experience for pedestrians traversing through its corridors. The process to solicit a master developer is already underway, with a selection to be made by the end of May 2026. A legal advisor to oversee the public-private partnership has already been hired by Byford; and the appointing of a financial advisor and construction manager to help oversee the work is also planned. The USDOT giving Amtrak an initial $43 million in federal grants to “jumpstart” the process with construction to start by the end of 2027 following environmental and design reviews.