USDOT, Amtrak provide update on New York Penn Station project

On March 23, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy and Amtrak Special Advisor Andy Byford noted new milestones in the New York Penn Station Transformation Project, which USDOT and Amtrak tool control from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last April. The milestones include: 

• The selection of the AECOM-led joint venture with LiRo-Hill to provide project management services. 
• New Jersey Transit has become a key partner in the transformation. 
• Amtrak has met with each prospective master developer to discuss their design proposals. 
• Early work has started to progress on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities and the service optimization study with the Federal Railroad Administration. 

“We are moving at the speed of Trump to break ground on the new and improved New York Penn Station next year,” Duffy said. “I’m fortunate to have Andy Byford as a partner in revitalization to bring this project to life.” 

According to Amtrak, as part of the contract, AECOM-LiRo NYPennT Joint Venture will work with Amtrak and the selected master developer to completely transform Penn Station, improving safety and operational efficiency, making the system more family friendly and accommodating increased train and passenger capacity. 

“Reaching another milestone with USDOT for the Penn Station Transformation Project reflects our ongoing commitment to keeping this project right on schedule and being transparent with updates,” Byford said. “The excitement for this project continues to build with each step, and we are looking forward to continuing our momentum with more future milestones that will ultimately bring a world-class station in the heart of New York City.” 

Project history  

• April 2025: Duffy announces USDOT and Amtrak were taking control of the Penn Station overhaul. As part of the announcement, USDOT withdrew $72 million in grant funding from the MTA. 
• May 2025: Duffy tapped Byford as the project overseer through a master developer public-private partnership. 
• August 2025: USDOT and Amtrak announced the project’s schedule and a $43 million federal grant to Amtrak to jumpstart the work, supporting project development and the solicitation of a master developer, as well as permitting and some preliminary design engineering work. 
• September 2025: Duffy also reclaimed management of Washington D.C.’s Union Station. 
• October 2025: USDOT and Amtrak kicked off the solicitation for the transformation project’s master developer, inviting interested parties to submit their letters of interest through Amtrak’s procurement portal. In addition, Amtrak announced the selection of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as the project’s legal advisor, KPMG as the financial advisor and AKRF as the project’s environmental consultant to help structure the project approach and agreements. FRA initiated the project’s service optimization study to study ways to accommodate passenger service growth at New York Penn Station and the surrounding region. 

Project future  

In January 2026, and as scheduled in the project timeline, three qualified teams have been shortlisted to compete to become the master developer. The list includes: 

• Penn Forward Now (Fengate) 
• Penn Transformation Partners (Halmar) 
• Grand Penn Partners (Macquarie) 

Amtrak says the project’s master developer will be selected in May and announced in June with preliminary design and NEPA activities set to occur from summer 2026 to the end of 2027, coinciding with the start of construction also at the end of 2027.