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Penn Station’s future could be determined by midterm elections

Stephen Nessen

Published Oct 9, 2026

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A rendering of Amtrak's planned rebuild of Penn Station.

Courtesy Penn Transformation Partners

Stephen Nessen

Published Oct 9, 2026

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This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.

Sign up to get the full version, which includes answers to reader questions, trivia, service changes and more, in your inbox every Thursday.

It’s not on the ballot, but Penn Station’s future could be decided by next month’s midterm elections.

The Trump administration, which took over the project to rebuild the dilapidated train hub last year, has released grand designs, picked a developer and put the price at $8 billion. Trump wants shovels in the ground by the end of 2027, but the project lacks funding or cooperation from the MTA.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in July asked Congress for $1 billion to get the work going, and for lawmakers to direct Amtrak to rename Penn Station, presumably after Trump. Congress left Washington last week without acting on either request. Lawmakers won’t return until after the election.

The MTA, the station’s biggest user, declined to sign an agreement to partner on the work, which led Amtrak special adviser Andy Byford to publish an op-ed in the Daily News this week accusing the New York transit agency of undermining the project.

But the outlook of the Penn Station overhaul could change if Congress flips from Republican to Democratic control.

Some lawmakers representing areas around Penn Station noted the Republican-controlled Congress failed to fund the project, and hoped Democrats would bring more transparency and scrutiny of the Trump administration’s plans.

“When we ask what will the midterms bring, maybe a new Congress who will actually commit to a real plan for Penn Station with real money attached to it,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, whose district straddles Penn Station. “We don't know, but we aren't getting it out of this Congress or this president so far.”

Assemblymember Tony Simone and Rep. Jerry Nadler raised concerns over proposed federal legislation that would allow Amtrak to redirect taxes from nearby buildings to help pay for the project.

“\I want Congress to have a backbone of oversight,” said Simone. “I want to make sure procurement is fair and competitive. I want to make sure the financing is transparent. I want to make sure New Yorkers and commuters aren't left with the bill.”

When the state-run MTA was leading the station’s rebuild in 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul also proposed using property tax money from new skyscrapers near Penn Station to cover part of the project’s cost.

Byford wrote in his op-ed this week that the MTA won’t answer basic questions about how it manages its space at Penn Station.

Last month, the MTA said it couldn’t respond to Byford because it had yet to see any of Amtrak’s Penn plans. Byford has said he can’t disclose all the details until MTA signs on as a full partner.

Still, Amtrak has yet to release a plan for how to address many of the MTA’s concerns, like how Long Island Rail Road riders would be affected by the construction.

“ What we are concerned about is protecting the riders, because when you start talking about pulling out a ton of structure and columns and so on and so on, it impacts on platforms. It may take platforms and tracks out of service. We have to understand all that,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said. “So that's why we're waiting for the feds to show up with the plans so we can comment on them.”

One thing seems clear: If Democrats win control of the House and Senate in November, Trump’s hope to rename Penn Station after himself would be a long shot.

"It will always be Penn Station,” said Simone. “If he wants his name somewhere, we can put it in the bathroom.”

NYC transportation news this week

Central Park's 6-mile loop is car free, but crashes keep piling up. Central Park is more popular than ever, with more than 100,000 people walking, jogging and biking through the city’s best-known greenspace every day. But all that activity has led to a growing sense of chaos along the park’s 6-mile loop, where three people have died in crashes since June. Just this week, a 71-year-old man died after he fell from his bike on East Drive near 84th Street while trying to avoid an unleashed dog. Parkgoers now compete for dwindling space along the loop that was dominated by cars a decade ago.

“We used to be fighting with the cars. Now it's runners and cyclists. You go at 6 in the morning, 6:30 in the morning, and it's like the two tribes. The runners on the left, the cyclists on the right.” — Peter Beadle, an attorney who’s representing a local cycling club suing the city to block a 15 mph speed limit for bikes in the park imposed last year by then-Mayor Eric Adams

Some longtime parkgoers said the crashes show the need for more cycling infrastructure around the park and more space for general recreation in Manhattan. Others said banning all electric-powered devices would make the park safer for everyone.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber accuses NYC's ex-"Train Daddy" of going "full MAGA" over Penn Station plan. Andy Byford served as the head of New York City Transit in the MTA years before he was tapped to lead the effort to rebuild the station. “I always knew Andy was a little conservative on social issues, but I never expected he would go full MAGA, and that's what he's done,” Lieber said Thursday. Lieber’s latest remarks represented an escalation in their dispute over the federal government’s management of the Penn Station project.

Conductor may have skipped safety check before train dragged a rider to death. The subway conductor on the train that dragged a man to death in Brooklyn last week told MTA investigators he wasn’t sure if he followed proper protocol, saying he was wary of sticking his head out of the train’s window to perform a crucial safety check because he’d previously been assaulted on the job, Gothamist learned.

Coming soon: Modern fare gates at 150 subway stations. MTA officials announced the agency is moving forward with a $1.1 billion rollout of modern fare gates, which feature sliding doors instead of turnstiles, after testing the technology at 20 subway stations over the last year.

Two fatal car crashes within 24 hours. A hit-and-run on Monday killed a 62-year-old man in Brooklyn and a crash involving an impaired driver in Queens on Sunday left a 23-year-old woman dead.

NYC mulls temporary highway over Brooklyn Bridge to fix BQE. New renderings show the city would build a highway over the iconic bridge to divert traffic while the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway's triple-cantilever structure is rebuilt.

NYC tow companies that ripped off drivers must give refunds. New York City’s consumer watchdog agency is forcing a pair of towing companies to issue $66,500 in refunds after officials said they defrauded car owners.

Join us for a conversation on the expansion of the Second Avenue Subway

The long-promised expansion of the Second Avenue Subway was intended to address a long-standing transit gap in East Harlem. But as construction advances, the project has also exposed a deeper tension between infrastructure investment and displacement.

Join WNYC’s “NYC Now” and the transit team on Thursday, Oct. 22, for a live podcast and community conversation with residents, business owners and MTA officials.

This is the fourth event in a five-part live community series focused on New York City’s affordability crisis. “In Conversation: The Affordability Series” brings New Yorkers together across lines of income, identity and experience to explore how the affordability crisis impacts their lives — and where shared interests can lead to deeper understanding and solutions.

When: Thursday, Oct. 22. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event starts at 7 p.m.

Where: CCCADI Ilé Oyin, 208 E. 126th Street, NY, NY 10035

Tickets are free, but registration is required. Click here for more information.

Curious Commuter

Have a question for us? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!

Question from Brian in Manhattan

Why is the MTA still playing prerecorded announcements on trains saying that the MetroCard is no longer accepted and that riders should use OMNY? If you're riding the train, you already know that!

Answer

The MTA stopped selling MetroCards at the start of 2026, but the agency was still letting riders use the trusty old cards with remaining balances through June. There’s a small population of riders — including many who are from out of town and use the subways infrequently — who have never used the tap-to-pay OMNY system. That may explain why the agency is still reminding people about the transition in the announcement you’re hearing. The MTA did not offer a timeline on when they’ll be phased out.

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Stephen Nessen

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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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