LIVE: Transportation Secretary Discusses Penn Station Transformation in New York City

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us today. I'm here with Steve Bradbury, Andy Byford, also known as the Train Daddy. We're excited to be here. Was it a couple months ago we were here together? Three months ago. I just want to do a step back. We were just at Union Station in D.C. riding the brand new Acela from D.C. up here to Penn Station. And, again, faster trains, more beautiful trains. Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us today. I'm here with Steve Bradbury, Andy Byford, also known as the Train Daddy. We're excited to be here. Was it a couple months ago we were here together? Three months ago. I just want to do a step back. We were just at Union Station in D.C. riding the brand new Acela from D.C. up here to Penn Station. And, again, faster trains, more beautiful trains. We're going to be able to carry more passengers on the Northeast Corridor, which means, I think, better pricing and better revenue for Amtrak. All very important. And, again, clean, beautiful trains that I think are worthy of the greatest country on the face of the Earth. We also announced this morning that we are going to, at DOT, with Amtrak, reclaim Union Station. We are going to revitalize it, reinvest in it. And, again, in our capital city, our train station deserves to be a showcase of the greatest country on the face of the Earth, America, in Washington, D.C. We want to bring in more restaurants, more retailers. That wasn't happening, so we had to rethink the partnerships that we have to revitalize Union Station. But today we're here to talk about Penn Station. And, as all of you have reported, or most of you reported, we have pulled this project back from MTA. I have not been shy in expressing my frustration with MTA. They spend a lot of money. I'm not pleased with their deliverables. And I didn't have faith that they could deliver on this project. And some have said, well, this administration doesn't care about transit, or this administration doesn't care about trains. What I just talked to you about is, with what we've done at Union Station and with the Acela and what we're doing here at Penn Station, your takeaway should be, actually, we do care about transit. We do care about trains. We do care about subways. We care about buses. But we care about the deliverables to the American people. How do we serve the American people? How do you serve New Yorkers, or those in New Jersey, or those in the greater Washington, D.C. area? That's what matters to us. Not spending money, but delivering on the investments that our taxpayers actually make in these systems. And so with that pullback, we thought it was important to walk through the timeline that we're going to go through for the Penn Station build. But before I do that, I think we are blessed to have a president who loves New York. New York has given the president a little bit of pushback, but he loves all of you. He loves this city. He loves building beautiful buildings. And what's great for us is that he actually cares about the project that we're engaging here at Penn Station. And again, he has a lot on his plate. He's doing a lot of things. But when I meet with him, this is a common question that he'll ask me is, where are we at with Penn Station? Where are we at in the process? He wants to know about the developers that may bid and how it's going to look, because he wants to make sure that this is a great representation for his administration, but he wants it to serve the New York people incredibly well. And so I'm honored that we have that kind of support and backdrop with the president, because oftentimes presidents wouldn't engage in a project like this. You all are blessed to have a president who cares about the project and cares about the for New Yorkers. And so again, we're excited to have this conversation today, but we are proud to be announcing a $43 million grant to begin the process in regard to the solicitation for a master developer. Andy's going to talk about the timeline that we have, but we are going to move at the speed of Trump. This is not going to be a 20, 30 year project. This is not about a back room, thinking about how we can spend money and develop plans, but never deliver. This is actually about how do we move this more quickly and more beautifully through the process. So it's not your grandkids that are going to enjoy the work that we're doing now. You all are going to get to enjoy this great project that we are about to announce the timeline on. So I thank you all for coming out. I couldn't be prouder to be part of this team that has been working so hard on the project. And again, Steve Bradbury is the deputy secretary. He's been incredibly engaged on this. I'm grateful for his support and his leadership. But I also think if you look at when we selected Andy, Andy has, I think, a strong and I don't think, I know he has a strong reputation in New York. You know how Andy delivers. And I think that's a sign to New Yorkers that we care about delivering because we brought in the best person we thought possible with the best credibility to make sure this project goes fast, so it's on time, it's on budget. And all of you, again, we're not red, we're not blue, like this is to serve people. And Andy's record, I think, is such that a lot of you have had confidence in how we've set this up. And so I couldn't be more grateful that he said yes to joining us and using all of his skills and experience to make sure this project goes off so well. And so he's a visionary. We spent the trade ride up here, by the way, and he's walking through all the things we're going to do and how we're going to do it and how we're going to get early deliverables. And then even on the way up, I'm sorry, I'm going to give it to you in a second, we're like, could we use some new paint even before we get this new build going? Some new paint might be nice. We're going up the escalator and he made the point, he's like, are we late? It's like, the clock doesn't work as we're coming up the escalator. There's some simple things we can do to serve people a little bit better. Quick wins. Make the clocks work, right? So those are some things we're going to focus on that Andy's going to talk about, not just the timeline on this massive project, but there's things we can do in the short run to make the experience better, because what we're doing is serving people, making government serve people, serve people better and more efficiently. And so thanks for coming out. And I'm honored to turn it over to Andy, better known as the trained Andy. Andy. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. And good afternoon, everyone. I'm Andy Byford, as the Secretary just said, and I'm honored to be leading on behalf of the administration and on behalf of Amtrak, America's Railroad. I'm honored to be leading this iconic project to truly transform New York Penn Station. And in addition to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary to my chair, Chair Kosher over there, President Harris, I think is here somewhere. I'm also joined by my friend and colleague, Sarah Appleton, who is the Deputy Project Director, again, for this beautiful and iconic project. So I've been doing this job now for three months. And for old friends of mine, Marsha, people like yourself, I'm so happy to be back in New York. This is where I want to be. And this is the project that I want to do. And in just my three months back here, it's become apparent to me in talking to people just how much Penn Station means to people. But also, it means a lot of different things to different people. Everyone has an opinion on Penn Station and what should be done. But the Secretary and I are unified in our vision for both the project and the station, but also in how we should go about transforming it. Because as the Secretary said, it's been talked about for years. Others have tried, but we're confident that we will succeed. And why do I say that? Well, very simply, because there is precise and absolute alignment between all of the key stakeholders from the White House, through the USDOT, through to Amtrak. There's absolute alignment. And that is the key, the magic key, to unlocking this station's potential in a way that frankly hasn't been achieved before. And as the owners of this station, Amtrak, we very much appreciate the support that President Trump has shown us and the confidence that Secretary Duffy has put in us and in me in making Amtrak the clear project lead. And we're ready to reward that confidence now by delivering a world-class station of which New Yorkers and visitors to New York and Americans and everyone can be truly proud. So as the Secretary said, today, we are officially providing advance notice for the solicitation of a master developer. And we're announcing the obligation of a Federal Railroad Administration grant to Amtrak for engaging that master developer. And also to conduct design and national environmental policy work, better known as NEPA, to really make this thing a reality. So from today, firms interested in working on this project can officially start the process of becoming our master developer partner. Ladies and gentlemen, the steps to completely transform Penn Station starts today. That process starts today. Complete top-to-bottom modernization and transformation of Penn Station. And in addition, this fall, our colleagues at the Federal Railroad Administration will begin a service optimization study to evaluate ways to safely accommodate passenger growth throughout the tri-state region and to maximize train capacity within the confines of the existing station footprint. Next May, we will announce the selection, the outcome of that design competition. We'll announce the selection of our master developer, and we will begin preliminary design and national environmental policy act activities, ultimately leading to the construction, the start of construction by the end of 27. So this is a very aggressive time frame, and you can see it set out on the chart behind me. Now let me be clear, because a lot of people have already asked me about the nature of the competition that we're going to run. So let me be clear on this. We're going to evaluate everything. It will be an open and fair competition with no preconceived notions of the outcome, but it will be conducted to a very aggressive timeline in order to hit that spade-in-the-ground date of the end of 2027. Now everyone likes to talk about the design of the new station, and that's the fun part. I like that fun, right? Looking at the renderings, figuring out what the station might look like in the future. But the transformation of Penn Station must be much more than bricks and mortar. It must be about making the station operationally sound, safe, clean, and easy to navigate. And I want, in the future, this station to ooze excellence in every form. I want every interaction with customers to be consistently excellent. Every single aspect, including, Mr. Secretary, making sure that the clocks work. We will ultimately select and implement the safest, most efficient, and timely proposal that makes the best use of customer and taxpayer dollars. And we've already made great progress over the past few months, and we're determined to complete this work on an expedited schedule. So, in just the last three months, we've been looking to hire a public-private partnership, or P3 legal advisor. We've done that, Sarah, right? Check. Already done. We have a legal advisor on board. We're now looking to bring on a P3 financial advisor. That process has started. We're about to make that appointment. And we've already started a third process to bring on board a P3 project management and construction manager partner. In other words, we're putting together the A-team that is needed to affect this massive and total transformation of this station. Now, two years, end of 27, that might seem like a long way away. But trust me, having done this thing in a few locations around the world, for a project of this complexity and magnitude, it's just around the corner. And it's really important because New York's Penn Station is actually our number one station in our national network of over 500 stations. We had over 12 million guests here last year. So, literally, we can't wait any longer. Enough talking. We can't wait any longer to transform this station for the better, because that's what New York deserves, and that's what this great country deserves. So, in conclusion, Secretary Duffy and the administration have brought a real sense of urgency and clarity to the project. A lot of people have talked about it, but we're going to act upon it. So, we're very grateful to Secretary Duffy and to the entire Department of Transportation, as well as, of course, President Trump and his administration, for bringing that urgency and clarity to the station's transformation, and in giving us the mandate and having confidence in us as Amtrak to carry out our vision and their vision for a world-class, safer, modern station. And on a personal note, I would like to thank Chair Kosher and President Harris for giving me this golden opportunity. Sir, I will not let you down. I'm super focused on this, and you're standing with me right now, and I'll certainly need you to stand with me as we progress through what will be a very challenging project, but one that has to be done. Tomorrow, another big day for Amtrak. Tomorrow, we'll debut our next-gen Acela trains, which are beautiful and offer a fantastic on-board service, reflecting exactly what we want to offer at the station today and into the future, because it's essential that our stations match our modern and safe train fleet so that customers in the future have a seamless experience from train to station. Again, what I said was, everything should be excellent. Every touchpoint with Amtrak should be consistently excellent. We've got the trains. Now it's the station's turn. So this is a truly exciting day for Amtrak and the future of Penn Station. We often talk about a new era of rail, but Amtrak's new era cannot exist without a transformed, modernized, and world-class Penn Station. That's what New Yorkers deserve, and that's what they're going to get. I'd now like to invite my colleague, Deputy Secretary Steve Bradbury, to say a few words. So the Secretary and Andy and I just had a great ride on the brand-new next-gen Acela train from Washington Union Station. It goes into revenue service tomorrow. This is a big day for Amtrak. It's a beautiful train, but we also need beautiful, big, beautiful train stations, really at both ends of this axis from Washington to New York. We're working on Union Station, as the Secretary mentioned, but Penn Station, nothing's bigger than Penn Station. This is the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere, believe it or not. And look at the main entrance to Penn Station right behind me. It's dreary. This is like an underground rabbit warren. This is not what the people of New York, New Jersey, the New York area deserve, the American people. So President Trump has a vision to make it a new, gleaming station. He's a builder. This is a marquee, crown jewel asset. It's right in the heart of New York City, and it deserves a transformation. Andy Byford is exactly the right person to do it. He's done it in London. He's done it here in New York previously. He's done it in Toronto. We knew we had the best when we picked Andy to take over this project for Amtrak. And what we want is an open, airy, bright station with open concourses. As Andy said, I love the phrase, oozing excellence. That's what America deserves. That's what the people of New York deserve. And this is, today is the starting gun for this process. So I couldn't be more excited, couldn't be more honored to stand with Secretary Duffy and on behalf of the Trump administration, lead this process forward. So thank you all for coming. We're happy to take a couple of your questions if you have any. Yes. I might tackle the first question. So as I mentioned, the FRA in parallel, it's very important that we parallel activities, otherwise we'll never hit the end of 27 timeframe. So while my team and I are focusing on getting the master developer on board, our colleagues at the DOT and the FRA will be undertaking a service capacity study to see what the, not only what changes need to happen in the station at track level to provide more capacity and a more efficient use of the station, but also to look further beyond, you know, through the next decade, what do the service patterns of the future look like and embracing the potential for through running. In other words, trains that don't just stop here and empty out or go back and provide a reverse service, but carry on in the direction in which they were traveling. So people often say to me, does that mean you're ruling out expansion? Well, for now, that's absolutely on hold. I think it's only right that initially what we should do is look to see how we could use this station more efficiently. There's 21 tracks. There's definitely efficiencies that we can squeeze more trains per hour out if we use the station more efficiently, plus with some targeted changes at track level, we believe, and the element of, and the concept of through running, which is the norm in pretty much everywhere I can think of, certainly in London, Toronto, we believe that before we even countenance expansion, we should look to maximize the efficiency of the existing station first. So by doing that study, we can inform the master developer of any changes that we want them to make at track level. And the final point I would make is I think we're selling New Yorkers short if in the future they turn up and they're wowed by a beautiful new station head house, and then they go down to the next level and they're like, fantastic, a beautiful single level concourse. But then they get to the bottom and they think, did they run out of money? It's still the same dark, gloomy, boiling hot, narrow and cramped situation that we currently have today. So I think it's really important that we look to maximize the existing capacity first before we even think about expanding in the future. Just real quick on, if you see our chart here, there is two tracks. We're looking at the building, but also we're looking at optimization. What is the best path forward? And we want more data before those decisions are made. And again, we're not here to announce a name change. We're here to announce a great project and a great build. I imagine you're asking, is this going to be Trump Station? I think that is a nice ring to it. But listen, we're all working on building this project and getting it done. And if you want to have a conversation about name changes, that's a conversation that could happen at some other point. We want to get this build off the ground and get this moving for New York. Yes. Just real quick. The president likes when things run smoothly. He doesn't want things to be shut down. He likes, as you even see with Ukraine and Russia. I think if you look at the number of wars he's stopped with, it's Pakistan and India. He has this unique ability to bring people together. And so I'll just say stay tuned for how the president will engage to make sure America and the world runs smoothly and more peacefully. Andy. Just on the specific about Metro-North, absolutely Metro-North. We're still working on the plan to bring Metro-North into Penn. What I was saying was, where previously there had been this plan of Penn expansion of a huge stub-end terminal, 12 tracks, however many tracks it was going to be, which would have been to the south of the station, over there actually, what's called Block 780 in New York. At the moment, we're putting that on hold while we look to see what more capacity can we squeeze out of the existing station, both through more efficient operations, literally the logistics of running the trains through the station, plus with the potential for through running. But Metro-North, the plan is still to bring Metro-North into Penn. Marsha? Would you mind just speaking up? The competition we're going to run will not specify whether Madison Square Garden stays in place or whether it moves. I would rather run an open competition. That's the whole point of this competition. It's a P3 competition. Let's see what people's ideas are. I'm aware of a number of ideas already. Some are predicated on the garden staying put. Some are predicated on the garden moving. I'm not going to opine on that. I would rather we see what ideas are out there. Then we'll deal with that at a later date. During the competition, though, we will evaluate the various proposals against a series of criteria. Obviously, whether the garden moves or stays put will be decided over time. We'll take a look at what the pros and cons of that are and what implications there are for cost and for time frame. Starting as of now, we're making no assumptions on that. In terms of alignment, it's a very good question. My last three months have been like speed dating. I've been going around New York talking to all the various players, including, critically, I've spent time talking to Jan Oliver at the MTA and Chris Coluri over at New Jersey Transit, in addition to people like Tom Prendergast over at Gateway. We're very mindful of the fact we're not the only users of this station. The MTA use it. NJT use it. We all have a common objective. I have yet to meet anyone who said, this station's fine as it is. Leave it as it is. We like it. We like the status quo. No, everyone recognizes this is not good enough. New Yorkers deserve a better station than this. What we're going to do is work with our colleagues, with New Jersey, with the MTA, to truly transform this place. We can only do that by working in partnership. Those conversations are already happening. You watch. There's going to be an intensive round of discussions and negotiations over the next few coming months, leading up to that critical timeline of spade in the ground by the end of 27. So in regard to congestion pricing, it is in litigation. I maintain my point that to drive a car in New York City, you shouldn't have to be an elite. You shouldn't have to be wealthy. I think your streets should be open to everybody, not just those who can afford to pay the congestion pricing. But with that, you've heard me say to if if you're if you're going to be forced off the roads, which I don't think you should be. I don't think just the rich should be able to drive on your roads. But if that is the position of the elected leaders that you all vote for, well, then and the trains that you're going to ride, it should be safe. It should be clean. And I do not think they are. And so I think those are two points. Again, roads should be free, should have access into the city. The federal taxpayers have partnered greatly with New York to make that happen. And again, I think there's a long way New York could go to make your trains and your subway system a lot safer. And I think, by the way, I don't think you I just even look at New York City, I'm sorry, Washington, D.C., and the progress that the president has made in two in two weeks in driving down crime. And a lot of folks in D.C. have said, well, listen, it actually feels kind of nice to have less crime. I'm not I'm not afraid of being carjacked. I'm not afraid of being burglarized or being murdered. I can walk on the streets a little later at night because I'm not afraid. And they didn't realize they could have that. And I think for all of you, you don't have to live in a city where you don't feel safe on your subway or your subways aren't clean. I think you I think you deserve better than what you're being offered. And I think you should demand more from MTA. And I think you should demand more from your elected leaders to say we don't think elites are the only ones who can drive into the city, just the ones who can afford it. I think that's shameful. And I think you all should push back on that ideology, because again, we do believe in equal access and this is not equal access. And I've heard more complaints from mostly Democrats, not a lot of Republicans here. Democrats complain about it because they see how unfair it is and how elitist it is. And again, we're in a process right now where we're going to let the courts make a decision and then and then we'll decide where we go from there. Well, as the Secretary alluded, I'm very interested in quick wins. It's an expression I've used at the TTC at New York City Transit. I'm always on the lookout for things where we can affect immediate improvements. So we do have a very good operational team. I'm not going to interfere with the the operational teams, but I'm certainly not going to be a passive observer in that either, where I think that there are things that we can do more efficiently, where there are quick wins to make New Yorkers' lives better, more pleasant here and to make the service more reliable. Rest assured, I will be feeding that into our operational teams, because I don't want this to just look like we're saying even with a timeline like 2027, you know, it's a way off, it's two years. I think there's things that we can and we should do right now. So I'm already actively, I've been over the last three months, looking around for things that we can do to make things better right now. It's relentless improvement has to be the name of the game. We'll do two more real quick. Yes. All right. Anybody else over here? Yes. It's a great question. So yeah, that will not be easy. But then I look at places I've worked across the world. There's a station called London Bridge in London, and I used to be the operations director of a train service company that went through London Bridge as it was being rebuilt. And so yes, there was some disruption, we had to reroute customers in order for them to migrate their way through the station while that work was being undertaken. But as long as you get your signage right, and your wayfinding right, as long as the customers feel that they know where to go and the staff look after them, our colleagues, our operational colleagues are well trained. I think New Yorkers will accept that in order to totally transform this place, there will need to be some changes along the way. And another example I'd cite was, it's amazing actually what the Port Authority did at LaGuardia. I've been away for three years because I was in London. I come back to a completely transformed LaGuardia airport, which is no mean feat, completely rebuilding an airport while you keep it open. So if they can do it, we can do it. And rest assured, that's top of my to-do list to maintain safe and efficient and pleasant customer operations while we transform this station. So there'll need to be a bit of rerouting, but even where you make changes at track level, we'll think them through carefully. We'll strategize on how to do it with the minimum disruption to keep the thing working while we transform this into a truly world-class operation and customer experience. The cost is yet to be determined because it depends from the output of the competition will determine how much it's going to cost and even who's going to pay for it. And that's why this is an open competition, a P3 competition. And the answer to that question, or the answer to those questions, will become apparent as we evaluate which scheme to choose, which design to choose. Is the garden moving? Yes or no? What kind of design do we have? Where's the money coming from? How constructible is it? How long is it going to take? What does it look like at the end of it? All that will become apparent. That's the whole purpose of having this competition. So the competition, which you'll see on the timeline behind me, kicks off in earnest. It starts today in that we're inviting people to get ready. But the competition starts in October and concludes in May. And we will evaluate against a series of criteria. And at that point, it will become apparent which is the preferred recommended option that I'll recommend to my chairman. And that will determine how much it costs and where's the money coming from. Real quick, Andy may be available for a little bit after, but we do want to minimize disruptions. Any of you who have driven on roadways where we're doing road construction, there is some disruption. We try to minimize it. There will be disruption here, like you will with road construction, but we are going to work to minimize it and make this as seamless as possible. And I know that Andy cares deeply about this. I want to thank you all for coming out. And I want to reiterate the takeaway is that we care about New York City. We care about your infrastructure. We care about how you travel. We care about your safety. The president cares. And if we didn't, we wouldn't be here. This project is not the easiest of projects to undertake. This is a complicated project, which is probably why there's been a lot of conversation about it, a lot of drawings about it, but nothing has ever happened because it's hard. And this administration is not afraid of taking on hard projects because we think you deserve us taking on those projects so you have a better city to live in. And that's why we're here. That's why we're engaging, not just with Penn Station or Union Station, but air traffic control. And across this administration, we're not afraid to change people's lives for the better because we're going to fix complicated problems and make those solutions serve the American people. And on this project, New Yorkers way better. Thank you for coming out and I look forward to keeping you all posted as the project moves forward. And again, I couldn't be prouder of Andy. Gratefully said yes. And again, I think he has the confidence of this city that we have the right guy in the job to deliver for your city. Thank you very much.