Feds Pick Developer For Penn Station Renovation

Sean Duffy and Amtrak on May 20 selected Penn Transformation Partners — a team led by Halmar and Skanska — as the master developer for the renovation of New York Penn Station. Amtrak said the team will lead a remake of the nation’s busiest rail hub under a public-private partnership model after the federal government took control of the project from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in April 2025. The plan calls for a new train hall entrance on Eighth Avenue, wider concourses, track-capacity changes and upgrades to the station’s underground structure. Federal officials said Madison Square Garden will remain above the station, with a redesigned exterior rather than a relocation. ### Who exactly did the federal government pick? Penn Transformation Partners is the newly selected master developer team for the project, according to Amtrak’s May 20 announcement. Amtrak identified the team as Halmar and Skanska, and said it won a competitive procurement overseen by Andy Byford, the former New York City Transit president who now serves as special adviser to the Amtrak board on Penn Station. (media.amtrak.com) March 2026 documents from Amtrak showed three finalist groups: Penn Transformation Partners, Penn Forward Now and Grand Penn Partners. Amtrak said in March that the winning master developer would be chosen in May, with preliminary design and environmental review to follow from summer 2026 through the end of 2027. (media.amtrak.com) ### Why is Amtrak, not the MTA, running this? The U.S. Department of Transportation on April 17, 2025 withdrew the MTA from leading the Penn Station reconstruction project and said Amtrak, backed by USDOT, would take over. The Federal Railroad Administration said at the time that it was also reducing and rescoping federal grant funding tied to the prior setup, a move the department said would save about $120 million. (media.amtrak.com) Amtrak’s role rests in part on ownership. The railroad said in its Penn Station project materials that it owns the station and is advancing the renovation with support from USDOT and the FRA through what it calls a progressive public-private partnership. ### What changes are actually planned inside and outside Penn? Amtrak said the selected plan would create a grand entrance on Eighth Avenue leading to a new train hall. (railroads.dot.gov) The railroad also said the project would replace narrow passageways with larger concourses, add retail and wayfinding improvements, and modernize platforms and vertical circulation such as stairs, escalators and elevators. The winning concept does not move Madison Square Garden and does not require demolishing the Hulu Theater, according to Spectrum News NY1’s report on the announcement. Gothamist reported that Amtrak described the Garden’s redesign as a new “classical look,” while saying the broader station design takes inspiration from the original Penn Station. ### What does “expanded track capacity” mean here? (media.amtrak.com) Amtrak said the selected proposal includes expanded track capacity, including at least limited through-running on the regional rail network. That would allow some trains to continue through Penn Station instead of terminating there and reversing direction, a longstanding idea among transportation planners. (ny1.com) Penn Station project documents released by Amtrak say the broader transformation is intended to improve operational efficiency, increase concourse access, accommodate passenger growth and support accessibility requirements, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. ### How much money is attached to the project so far? The federal government has already committed at least some early funding to move the work forward. (media.amtrak.com) Amtrak said in March that USDOT had announced a $43 million federal grant in August 2025 to support project development, permitting and some preliminary design and engineering work. (media.amtrak.com) The Transportation Department also announced a broader $4.7 billion Northeast Corridor funding initiative in April 2026 that included major station projects such as New York Penn Station. The agency said the first round of Partnership-Northeast Corridor applications for those high-priority station projects was due May 5, 2026. ### What happens next, and when would riders see construction? (media.amtrak.com) Summer 2026 is the next formal phase in Amtrak’s published timeline, with preliminary design and National Environmental Policy Act review scheduled to begin after the developer selection. Amtrak and USDOT have said they are targeting the start of construction by the end of 2027. (railroads.dot.gov) Andy Byford said on May 20 that the selection puts the project “one step closer” to having “shovels in the ground next year.” Amtrak’s timeline materials and federal announcements continue to point to late 2027 as the stated construction milestone, with Amtrak, USDOT and the selected developer now moving into design and review work. (media.amtrak.com) (media.amtrak.com)