Amtrak: Questions swirl around Amtrak takeover of Penn Station redevelopment

The Trump administration has passed the reins of Penn Station's long-anticipated redevelopment to Amtrak, ostensibly sidelining the MTA for a more cost-effective project. But transit experts who note the embattled rail agency has its own troubles with delivering projects on time and on budget say the shift could be an attempt at slow rolling the project.U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier this month that Amtrak would take over the $7 billion project due to what he described as the MTA's history of "inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement." Amtrak's watchdog Office of the Inspector General has repeatedly spotlighted evidence of its own shoddy planning that can spur project delays and cost overruns.You needn't look further than Penn Station's Eighth Avenue neighbor, Moynihan Train Hall, for a recent Amtrak project that suffered from mismanagement. A 2020 report from Amtrak's Inspector General Kevin Winters found that the rail agency underestimated costs for its portion by $72.8 million - that amounts to a 69% increase from Amtrak's original project estimate. The trouble with the budget for the train hall, which opened in 2021 and cost $1.6 billion to build, stemmed from the project team leaving out "basic costs that a major construction program would typically include, such as program and construction management and information technology," the report states.More recently, a 2024 audit from Winters' office found that the ongoing Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, a $6 billion effort to overhaul a 1.4-mile stretch of tunnel beneath Baltimore, has grappled with delays because the project "did not have an effective structure or sufficient staff in place." The tunnel rehabilitation now "faces a significantly increased risk of cost overruns and additional delays as it proceeds into major construction," the audit found.Eric Goldwyn, who studies transit and runs the transportation and land use group at NYU's Marron Institute of Urban Management, worries that the federal government may be laying the groundwork to stonewall the station's redevelopment."There's a lot of uncertainty at Amtrak right now," said Goldwyn. "What is the true motivation of moving the project to Amtrak? Is it to actually modernize Penn Station, or is it to sort of handicap the project and make it untenable?" he added.Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams defended the agency's track record, and said that officials have recently focused on staffing up to better juggle and improve projects."Over the past few years, we have significantly ramped up our delivery capacity, hiring highly-qualified construction professionals who bring extensive project experience, including many who specialize in innovative project delivery methods such as public-private partnerships," said Abrams. The rail agency intends to leverage private sector investment into the Penn Station reconstruction "to drive efficiencies and reduce costs," Abrams added.Amtrak owns Penn Station and the approaches from the east and west, but actually operates the smallest amount of track and runs the fewest trains of any rail agency using the station.New Jersey Transit runs the busiest line at the station and the Hell Gate Bridge. The MTA, meanwhile, runs the biggest railroad at Penn Station, the Long Island Rail Road, and the six subway lines that feed the LIRR, NJT and Amtrak at Penn Station. On a daily basis, Amtrak runs 120 trains through Penn Station, NJT operates 350 and LIRR runs more than 430. Penn Station features 21 tracks, four of which are operated exclusively by NJT and another four solely by LIRR; tracks five through 16 are used by all three rail agencies, according to Abrams.In other words, Amtrak may own and oversee general station operations, but it's NJT and the MTA that have the most at stake with Penn Station's redevelopment. And now the agency with the smallest operational presence at the terminal is being tasked with making consequential decisions that will affect all of its operators.Amtrak's challenges go beyond project management. The agency is currently without a chief executive due to the March resignation of Stephen Gardner, and the agency's overall direction and ability to adequately serve its customers under Trump is in question, following federal funding delays, talk of staff cuts, and Elon Musk's suggestion that Amtrak be privatized.Gary Prophet, president of the advocacy group Empire State Passenger Association, said he's optimistic about Amtrak's ability to deliver a robust new station for New York commuters, so long as the Trump administration doesn't get in its way."Is this project just going to sit on autopilot and nothing's going to happen for the next four years? That's the concern," said Prophet. "That would be a real negative for everyone."Gov. Kathy Hochul, at a recent press briefing, made it clear that she's relinquishing the project to the Trump administration by announcing that the state, in its annual budget, is pulling roughly $1.3 billion intended for the redevelopment - those dollars will instead support subway, bus and commuter rail infrastructure. And even joked that she's open to renaming Penn Station after the president, if he delivers on the project.Hochul gently goaded Trump to act fast on Penn Station."I expect to see immediate progress given how efficiency is so important to you," Hochul said Friday. "And maybe Elon Musk can be in charge of it and get it done really fast, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that."