Governor Cuomo's Plan to Transform Penn Station into a World Class Transportation Hub

As part of Andrew Cuomo's 2016 agenda, it was announced this morning that the Governor plans to transform the reviled Penn Station into a world class transportation hub.

The project, known as the Empire Station Complex, will feature significant passenger improvements, including first-class amenities, natural light, increased train capacity and decreased congestion, and improved signage to dramatically enhance the travel experience. The project – which is anticipated to cost $3 billion – will be expedited by a public-private partnership in order to break ground this year and complete substantial construction within the next three years.

Anything will be better than what we currently have, so this is a welcomed upgrade to one of the most unnecessarily complex transit hubs in the City.

Redeveloped Penn Station Exterior: View from 8th Avenue | A friendly, negotiated condemnation and removal of the MSG Paramount Theater, creating the opportunity to construct an 8th Avenue grand entrance with concourse, retail and commercial space.

Farley Post Office Redevelopment: View from New Train Hall | As part of the Governor’s proposal, the Farley Post Office, which sits across 8th Avenue from Penn Station, will be redeveloped into a state-of-the-art train hall for Amtrak, the new train hall, with services for passengers of the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and the new Air Train to LaGuardia Airport. The train hall will be connected to Penn Station via an underground pedestrian concourse, and increase the station’s size by 50 percent. At 210,000 square feet, the train hall will be roughly equivalent in size to the main room at Grand Central Terminal. The new facility will offer more concourse and circulation space, include retail space and modern amenities such as Wi-Fi and digital ticketing, and feature 30 new escalators, elevators and stairs to speed passenger flow. The Governor’s proposal also calls for an iconic yet energy-efficient architectural design.

Completed Empire Station Complex Rendering | Aerial view of the completed Empire Station Complex.

New LIRR 33rd Street Concourse Rendering | Rendering of new LIRR 33rd Street Concourse at Penn Station.

Empire Station Complex: 33rd Street Entrance by Day | Close 33rd Street and use skylights and new entrance to bring natural light to the concourse below.

Empire Station Complex: 33rd Street Entrance by Night | Close 33rd Street and use skylights and new entrance to bring natural light to the concourse below.

Empire Station Complex: Exterior View from Southeast | Open the site through new entrances at the corners and mid-block.

Empire Station Complex: Midblock Section

via Andrew Cuomo

Penn Station

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

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