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NEW YORK (WABC) — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy comes to Penn Station Wednesday afternoon to announce its long awaited rebuilding will start in 2027, an ambitious schedule that the administration says is on “Trump Time.”
A press conference is expected around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the future plans and schedule for renovations.
The Trump administration took over the $7 billion renovation project back in May, and will launch a public-private partnership with a $43 million federal grant toward preliminary engineering work.
The DOT will begin soliciting proposals from developers in October, select a master developer for the site next May. Design work and environmental review will follow, with construction beginning by the end of 2027.
The administration released a video of when Transportation Secretary Duffy and the former head of the New York City Transit system Andy Byford toured Penn Station.
Byford is leading the redevelopment plans.
He had earned the nickname “Train Daddy” for speeding up MTA service and making subways less crowded in the past.
Byford will also attempt to increase train capacity in Penn Station, where Amtrak, LIRR and NJ Transit all compete for limited track space.
He also spent more than two years leading the London transit system.
Federal officials are expected to state the goal is a clean, efficient Penn Station with increased train capacity. It remains unclear what the future hub will look like.
Amtrak has taken over this Penn Station Project from the MTA, but The MTA says they expect to still participate in the Trump administration’s and Amtrak’s renovation plans.
Penn Station is Amtrak’s number one station in its national network of over 500 stations.
The renovations are also not the only changes we are going to see.
Thursday, a new fleet of the next generation of Acela high speed trains will go into service.
Eyewitness News expects to see one of them while the transportation secretary is visiting.
Duffy also announced on Wednesday morning that the Department of Transportation is also “reclaiming the management” of Union Station in Washington, D.C. to restore it.
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