The Case for Penn South On January 6th, Governor Cuomo public realm, and it’s clear why action on Penn Station has been so announced the start of an ambitious plan difficult to come by over the years, and why the Governor’s plan is so important. to acquire the block directly south of Penn Station to expand the station complex with The capacity that would be added by Penn new tracks and platforms. Station South is desperately needed, both This expansion of Penn Station would include six street-level to relieve overcrowding at Penn Station access points and is projected to increase capacity to serve and to accommodate the future demand 175,000 additional passengers and 40 percent more trains. Com- for rail transportation in the region. monly known as Penn Station South, this idea has been around for at least a decade and is fundamental to the success of the Built to accommodate 200,000 passengers per day, Penn Sta- Gateway Program. The Governor’s plan accelerates the timeline tion now operates at more than twice its intended capacity. With for its construction. approximately 450,000 intercity and commuter trips made daily to the station and 330,000 subway riders using the A/C/E and 1/2/3 This paper aims to demonstrate three things: stations at 34th Street, Penn Station can get dangerously congested. With its narrow and crowded platforms, low ceilings, poor heating ⊲ why this new capacity is needed; and cooling systems, abysmal ADA accessibility, lack of cleanliness, ⊲ why it makes sense to move Penn Station South forward and sub-par public amenities, Penn Station lacks the efficiency, while simultaneously pushing to build a new trans-Hudson safety, and dignity the busiest public transit hub in the Western tunnel as quickly as possible; Hemisphere should offer. And expected growth in the region’s economy and new services that are slated for Penn Station will create ⊲ and how Penn Station South can be built as a through-run- even more crowded and unsafe conditions in the near future. ning station that is integrated into a unified station complex. Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and NJTransit (NJT) In the short term, Penn Station passengers will see some conges- currently operate in Penn Station and Metro-North is set to tion relief as the opening of Moynihan Train Hall will add begin operations a few years from now. Add on to that the vari- needed waiting areas and East Side Access will significantly ous government agencies, advocacy groups, developers, landlords, reduce the number of LIRR riders at Penn Station. The short dip and other entities that all have a stake in making Penn Station in ridership to just under 400,000 riders will not take long to and the surrounding area a safer and more dignified part of the once again rise with the addition of Metro-North riders through 1 The Case for Penn South | February 2020 the Penn Access Project and an expansion of Trans-Hudson East River to Sunnyside Yard. Still, efficient through-running of capacity and reliability via the Gateway Program. Once the full revenue service is unworkable at the existing Penn Station because Gateway Program is completed around 2040, RPA projects that the platforms aren’t large enough to accommodate both outgo- rail ridership into Penn Station could grow to over 600,000. ing and incoming passengers at the same time and there is not enough vertical circulation (stairs, elevators, and escalators) The details of the expansion must be debated through a robust to move passengers up from the platform to the lower level of planning and public engagement process that carefully considers Penn Station efficiently. Grade and track alignments would also historic preservation, urban design, and neighborhood concerns, require extensive reconstruction. These changes would require but it is clear that Penn Station needs the extra capacity provided closing platforms and reducing service for an extended period. by Penn Station South. Beyond the tracks and platforms, rolling stock, electrical sys- tems, labor contracts, and other essential systems of LIRR, NJT, Penn Station South is the best way to create and Metro-North would need to be compatible. through-running service that would provide even more capacity. By contrast, Penn Station South could be built with much wider In addition to creating new tracks and platforms, the plans for Penn platforms than those at Penn Station to allow for faster passenger Station South are being developed with an eye toward an eventual movements. The platforms should also be built with greater verti- future extension to the east that would enable through-running ser- cal circulation to improve safety and comfort while also speeding vice, greatly expanding travel options for NJT and LIRR riders and up boarding and alighting to decrease dwell times. Through-run- increasing the number of trains and passengers that Penn Station ning service at Penn Station South would require extending the can handle. Instead of having trains linger for 15-20 minutes at the Gateway tunnel underneath the East River to a new rail yard in Penn Station platform, as they currently do, through-running trains Queens or the Bronx or a connection to the Northeast Corridor. could make shorter stops to unload and then board new passengers While this would cost several billion dollars, it would likely cost and then continue service in the same direction. Through-running less than converting the existing Penn Station with none of the would improve capacity by providing travelers with direct crosstown disruption, and add needed capacity under the East River. service between New Jersey and Long Island and reduce the amount of time trains spend boarding at Penn Station. As proposed by RPA1, extending a new two-track tunnel to Queens would allow for a 38 percent increase in trains through Some critics have argued that Penn Station doesn’t need to be the new tunnel and would increase track capacity under the East expanded, and could handle the increase of 200,000 or more River by 50 percent. Through-running service would serve a additional daily commuters by redesigning the tracks and plat- similar function to Crossrail in London or RER service in Paris forms and providing more through-running service. This vastly to get commuters into or through the city center with speed and underestimates how extraordinarily disruptive and expensive efficiency. Through-running would also open the possibility for converting Penn Station to through-running would be without freight trains to use the station in off-hours, connecting to the Penn Station South. WIn fact,36 Tracks 5-21 technically support Lower Montauk line in Queens. This could be extremely helpful through-running today – Amtrak trains through-run to Boston for freight movement and take a considerable number of trucks or D.C. with a long wait, LIRR trains through-run to end their off of New York City’s overburdened streets. trip at Hudson Yards, and some NJT trains through-run under the 1 See the RPA report, Crossing the Hudson Empire Station Complex Map Penn Plaza East Side Access W 34 6th to Grand Central One Penn 7th 7th 7th 7th 8th 8th 8th 8th 9th 9th Farley Plaza W 33 Post Oce Metro-North Moynihan Penn Station Station Penn Access Madison Square Two Penn Garden Plaza W 31 Gateway Phase One Penn South W 30 W 29 2 The Case for Penn South | February 2020 W 28 Now is the Time to Take "This expansion in the block south of Penn — Action on Penn Station combined with the soon-to-be-completed Moynihan Train Hall and the transformation Planned commuter rail projects offer a of the existing Penn facility — will create an once-in-a-generation opportunity to create interconnected, world-class Empire Station a unified and interconnected Penn Station Complex that will expand capacity by 40 complex that meets regional demand. percent. This will improve how more than half a million New Yorkers commute, travel The timing of new facilities and services will reduce the number and work every day, while transforming of passengers in the existing Penn Station in the short-term and Penn into the world-class facility the Empire create a window to undertake work to prepare the station complex for building Penn Station South. The alignment and sequencing of State deserves." these project make a compelling case for accelerating Penn Station — Governor Andrew Cuomo South in the timeline proposed by New York State. The Moynihan Train Hall and Farley Complex In late 2020, Moynihan Train Hall will open across 8th Avenue will improve passenger flow and improve amenities. They include and the majority of Amtrak operations will relocate out of Penn a large indoor-outdoor space centered on 33rd Street, closing Station. Phase one of Moynihan, a new westside concourse, the eastern half of that street, and creating a new plaza with an opened in 2017, providing a new western egress for riders headed entrance directly down to an enlarged LIRR concourse. The LIRR to the A/C/E or points west.2 Phase two of Moynihan includes concourse will nearly double in width with higher ceilings and the new train hall with a grand 92-foot skylight held up by mas- more natural light, including some light down to the northern half sive original Farley Post Office sorting room beams, several new of the platform level, which will improve wayfinding. egresses for Amtrak boarding on the middle tracks, and a direct access point to 9th Avenue. In addition to being the primary East Side Access boarding area for all Amtrak trains, Moynihan will also house In 2022, East Side Access service to Grand Central Terminal will LIRR services and access points.