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Daddy's home: Andy Byford to make NYC return for Penn Station remake, White House says
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Jon Campbell
Published May 23, 2025
Modified May 23, 2025
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Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Jon Campbell
Published May 23, 2025
Modified May 23, 2025
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Train Daddy is on the express route back to New York City.
Former NYC Transit President Andy Byford has been tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the long-stalled redevelopment of Penn Station, White House officials confirmed on Friday.
The project will put Byford at the center of one of the most high-profile construction projects in the country. MTA Chair Janno Lieber had previously planned to run the overhaul of the station, which is owned by Amtrak. But he was kicked off the project last month by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who said Amtrak would take control of the work.
Byford has worked for Amtrak since 2023, leading the agency’s push to build high speed rail networks — an initiative that has been partially defunded by the Trump administration. West Side Spirit, which broke the news Friday, reported Byford and Trump met Thursday at the White House.
He oversaw the city’s subway and bus networks from 2018 into early 2020, and was credited with improving service following 2017’s “summer of hell” that saw rampant delays under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In 2019, Byford helped push state lawmakers to sign off on congestion pricing, which launched earlier this year, tolling drivers who enter Manhattan south of 60th Street and directing the funds to the MTA’s construction department.
Byford’s work in New York earned him the nickname “Train Daddy” among subway riders.
He resigned from the MTA in February 2020 after Cuomo mandated a reorganization of the transit agency that stripped Byford’s control of construction work and turned it over to Lieber. Before returning to the United States to work for Amtrak, he ran London’s transportation systems.
Byford did not respond to a request for comment.
MTA spokesperson John McCarthy said Byford's appointment to lead the project was "good news."
"Gov. [Kathy] Hochul has welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to step up and make good on its commitment to advance and finance this project," McCarthy wrote in a statement. "We look forward to working with Andy Byford, who understands the importance of mass transit and was a strong supporter throughout our battle to implement congestion pricing in New York.”
Trump has kept a close eye on Penn Station since returning to the White House. Some of his allies have pushed for the station to be redeveloped with a “traditional” design that includes Greco-Roman columns.
The future of the station — the busiest in North America — is a source of much consternation. Leaders of Amtrak have for years called for the station to be expanded to the south, which would require razing an entire city block.
Months after he joined Amtrak in 2023, Byford called into a public meeting to argue against the demolition plan. He said the expansion could be avoided if the train hub employed “through-running,” or consolidated NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road service so each railroad wouldn’t need to stop and turn around after reaching Midtown.
“ This is the best news that we have heard about Penn Station, probably since its construction,” said Layla Law-Gisiko, president of the City Club of New York, which has fought against the Penn Station expansion project for years. “It's incredibly, incredibly good and momentous, and it is giving me a sense of hope that I have not had since I became involved with this project.”
Amtrak has been without a CEO since March, when Stephen Gardner abruptly stepped down from the position. Byford, a British national, would not be allowed to take the CEO position, which can only be held by a U.S. citizen.
John Samuelsen, the international president of the Transport Workers Union, which represents a majority of the MTA’s workforce, commended Byford’s appointment.
“Byford is an excellent choice for this project, and in fact he should be brought back to run the entire MTA in New York,” Samuelsen said. “The riders and workers would be a lot better off for it.”
State Assemblymember Tony Simone, a Manhattan Democrat whose district includes Penn Station, said Byford is “one of the most respected leaders in the world of transportation.”
But Simone said Trump and “his reality TV transportation secretary” — a reference to Duffy, a former contestant on MTV’s “The Real World” – will ultimately be in charge of the project
“As I said when they first took over the reconstruction of Penn Station, I’m beyond skeptical that this administration can manage such a project,” Simone said.
This story has been updated to reflect that West Side Spirt was first to report on Byford's new project.
Tagged
new york city
manhattan
amtrak
Politics
transportation
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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Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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