NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has approved a design-build contract for the Penn Station Access project, which will bring Metro-North service to Penn Station via the existing Amtrak Northeast Corridor route over Hell Gate Bridge.
A joint venture of Halmar International and RailWorks has received the contract for the project, estimated to take 63 months and cost $2.87 billion.
The project will add four new Metro-North stations and is estimated to reduce commute times by up to 75 minutes for some passengers [see “Plan to bring Metro-North service to Penn Station …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 29, 2021]. The contract was awarded just days after Amtrak agreed to contribute $500 million to the project [see “Amtrak, MTA reach deal …,” News Wire, Dec. 14, 2021].
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a press release announcing the contract, said the project “is a big step forward for environmental justice, environmentally sustainable transportation, the Bronx economy and regional interconnectivity.” Acting MTA chairman and CEO Janno Liber said, “With four new ADA-accessible stations in Co-Op City, Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest and Hunts Point, Penn Station Access will deliver access to jobs, education and opportunity for those underserved neighborhoods, cutting commutes to the Manhattan central business district, but also introducing reverse commuting opportunities.”
What on earth is “environmental Justice”? Can somebody point us to a Woke dictionary?
Nice PR blurb. New Rochelle-GCT was quicker than New Rochelle-Penn Station in NH-NYC and NH-PRR days.
75 Min saving must be from the new stations to Penn Station. Imagine the coSt, moving the car from Stamford CT to Penn Station NY to carry a local passenger in NY City.
If a person’s commute can be reduced by 75 minutes, something is fundamentally wrong that four new stations will not fix.
Why do we have so many people working on an island who don’t live on the island in the first place? Are we sure we need this project after Covid has proved telecommuting works so well?
If we subsidize and enable commuting to NYC we will only get more of it.
And “reverse commuting???” Does that mean people will live in Manhattan and work in the Bronx? Those must be some high-paying Bronx jobs.
Who’s counting the 2.87 billion?
If a person’s commute can be reduced by 75 minutes, something is fundamentally wrong that four new stations will not fix.
Why do we have so many people working on an island who don’t live on the island in the first place? Are we sure we need this project after Covid proved telecommuting works so well?
If we subsidize and enable commuting to NYC we will only get more of it.
it reduces time because people in the northeast Bronx don’t have good choices to commute. There are express buses, but they can get caught in rush hour traffic. Otherwise buses to the end of subway lines which make a lot of stops.
Um, Not everyone can telecommute. I am more worried about eventual uncontrolled gentrification of these neighborhoods without providing mechanisms that allow current residents to stay if they wish
In medium sized, growth restricted Santa Barbara many people commute up to an hour from Santa Maria and the north, or Camarillo in the south. Many do so because they want to buy a home. Homes in Santa Barbara cost almost twice as much; so people prefer to spend time commuting, instead of renting. And, no, Amtrak does not arrive in SB for people to get to work on time, without regard to the last mile.