Trump administration takes over $7B reconstruction project for NYC's Penn Station [View all]

Source: The Independent/AP

Friday 18 April 2025 00:39 BST


President Donald Trump's administration is taking control of the $7 billion reconstruction project for New York City's busy but aging Penn Station, sidelining the city's mass transit agency, the transportation chief said Thursday. State and city officials have sought for years to remake the country’s busiest rail hub, which is beleaguered by problems ranging from aging tracks to dreary commuter passageways.

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said his agency could deliver a world-class Penn Station by working with Amtrak, the federally chartered railroad company that owns the midtown Manhattan hub. Duffy said he was withdrawing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as lead for the reconstruction project.

“New York City deserves a Penn Station that reflects America’s greatness and is safe and clean. The MTA’s history of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is needed," Duffy said in a prepared release.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called the move “a major victory for New Yorkers” that would save them tax money. Hochul said she had asked Trump for federal funding.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/penn-station-amtrak-new-york-trump-kathy-hochul-b2735492.html