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Amtrak seeks 'most skilled and knowledgeable' partners for Trump's Penn Station rebuild
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 30, 2025
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Adam Gray/Getty Images
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 30, 2025
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Amtrak officials on Thursday announced they are moving forward with President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild Penn Station, and are seeking a “master developer” that can finish the job at a breakneck pace.
The national railroad, which owns Penn Station, took over the long-stalled redevelopment project in April from the MTA, which uses the train hub’s northern tracks for the Long Island Rail Road.
Amtrak wants a private partner to help design and partially fund the work, with the goal of starting construction by the end of 2027.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the relatively quick turnaround was working on “Trump Time.”
“This will be one of the biggest and most significant construction projects in U.S. history, and we want the most skilled and knowledgeable partners to help make it a success,” Andy Byford, special adviser to the Amtrak board, wrote in a statement.
Amtrak officials have ruled out any design that would require expanding Penn Station’s footprint south to add more tracks and platforms. Still, the agency is open to overhauling the track level to accommodate more train service when the new Hudson River tunnels being built through the Gateway project are finished.
Officials with Amtrak said they’re not concerned about that project being delayed, despite Trump’s pledge to “terminate” Gateway.
As part of the redevelopment, the Federal Railroad Administration plans to commission a study on through-running at Penn Station, which would allow MTA and NJ Transit commuter trains to share tracks and operate on each other’s property. Transit advocates argue such a redesign would help add capacity at the train hub without requiring an expansion.
Amtrak announced it’s also studying other ways to improve efficiency on Penn Station’s existing tracks and platforms.
Amtrak wants any design to include a single-floor passenger concourse instead of the station’s current multilevel layout, as well as new entrances and a design that would bring in natural light. Railroad officials said they were open to proposals that would relocate Madison Square Garden. The city’s permit for the venue to operate above the station expires in 2028.
While the project would rely on a private partner to help finance the work, Amtrak officials said they expect government grants and loans to cover a large portion of the project's cost. Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated New York state won’t help pay for the job.
“Everybody agrees, every planner in the world agrees that density around transit hubs is a good thing and I am of that view, absolutely,” said Layla Law-Gisiko, president of the City Club of New York and state Assembly candidate. She spent years opposing plans by Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve new skyscrapers near the station, and use fees from the buildings to pay for some of the work.
“At least we're going to [redevelop Penn Station] in a way that is going to be a little bit more organic and also we're not spending all our time and energy talking about [new buildings], when really what we need to talk about is transportation,” Law-Gisiko said.
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Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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