Kickoff For Penn Station Working Group

By Rail Passengers Staff

The New York Penn Station Working Advisory Group, or SWAG, met for the first time on Tuesday in a conference room above the Moynihan Train Hall, with both Rail Passengers’ President & CEO, Jim Mathews, and Government Affairs and Policy VP Sean Jeans-Gail in attendance.

Amtrak, NJ Transit, and New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, or MTA, together convened the new group with stakeholders such as community boards, local planners, and city and state politicians, and invited us last month to be part of the process as advisors.

Although some preliminary design work is already underway, we’ve been told there’s still significant opportunity to share ideas, concerns, critiques, and inputs for how best to remodel Penn Station as planners look ahead to a rail-driven future at a facility that is already beyond its capacity.

The group will meet at least twice in October, and perhaps some more times before the end of the year before settling into a rhythm of quarterly in-person meetings to review ideas and progress.

We’re excited at the possibilities that could be on the table. But we’re also cautious; the Penn Station complex is at the very core of a Northeast Corridor responsible for some $100 million per day of our Nation’s gross domestic product. Anything that’s done has to be done carefully, with consideration for those who live and work closest to the station and also with an eye toward building something that will endure for perhaps a century.

There were few real details available during the first meeting, but the design and planning team expect to share more with us in the coming weeks.