MTA CEO blasts Amtrak for delays on Penn Access project (additional update)

NEW YORK — Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber has blasted Amtrak for a lack of cooperation on the Penn Access infrastructure project, saying the situation is “outrageous, and it’s been a problem from the start of that project.“

Amtrak, which initially called Lieber’s statements “misinformation,” updated its initial statement Tuesday afternoon with details on its cooperation with the MTA project.

Lieber was speaking at a press conference on Monday (Oct. 6, 2025) on the completion of the first phase of rebuilding of the Park Avenue Viaduct [see “ ]. He was asked about possible delays to the Second Avenue Subway project because of the withholding of federal funds by a reporter who linked that problem to delays on Penn Access, which seeks to bring Metro-North service to Penn Station and four new stops in the Bronx along Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line.

“That’s a different issue,” Lieber said. “Amtrak slows down on its own. They don’t need any direction from Congress. … They slow us down every day of the week by not giving outages” — track closures to allow construction work — “which were promised in contracts, [and] by not ever having the personnel, because it’s their right of way, and we need their supervisory personnel to stand there and watch us do work. Their people don’t show up. We can’t get work done.  The people in Co-Op City” — one of the locations of a new station — “are waiting for a goddamn train.”

An animated Lieber said that in the first year of the project, “Amtrak didn’t give us one outage that they promised. Not one.”

Amtrak took exception to that claim in its Tuesday afternoon statement, saying “Contrary to MTA Leadership’s narrative, we are meeting, and in many cases exceeding, our promises. Penn Station Access is an important project with many challenges beyond track access, and we remain focused on working collaboratively with their project teams to get the work done so both of our customers can benefit.

“Although we had a slow start to the Project, we provided five outages within the first year, not zero as claimed. Starting in 2023, we provided significantly more track access than planned, including long-term continuous outages currently totaling over 400 days (allowing 24/7 work rather than just weekends) for critical work. In 2025 alone, we have exceeded our plan to provide 130% of outages to date. Amtrak remains committed to ensuring the safety of our passengers, employees, and contractors, including providing force account protection to keep everyone safe while working on an active railroad.  We have been able to provide 90% more Force Account than contractually obligated to do so, enabling the contractor to mobilize more crews to advance the work.”

The MTA has registered its concerns over Amtrak cooperation almost since the project began. In January 2023 — the month after a groundbreaking ceremony — the president of MTA Construction & Development, Jamie Torres-Springer, told an MTA board meeting that the project was already facing a seven-month delay because Amtrak was not providing the necessary access and manpower. [See “MTA runs into early delays …,” Trains.com, Jan. 31, 2023]. Amtrak subsequently agreed to adjust its schedules on the Hell Gate Line to accommodate Penn Access work [see “Amtrak to take one track on Hell Gate Line out of service …,” Trains.com, March 6, 2023].

“We’re asking Amtrak to make good on their promises and at least give us additional access and additional capacity to make up some of the time,” Lieber said Monday. “So those discussions are under way. We’ll see whether they’re successful. So far, they haven’t yielded much.”

— Updated Oct. 7 at 8:53 a.m. CT with Amtrak statement; updated at 5:15 p.m. CT with updated Amtrak statement.