NEW YORK CITY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been highly critical of late of Amtrak's management of Penn Station, outlined a long-term plan that could involve either New York State or the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey taking over operations at Penn Station.

The governor, in a speech at the City University of New York in Manhattan on Tuesday, cited a host of issues at Penn Station this spring, including a broken switch, two train derailments, a disabled train, electrical problems and flooding that have caused massive delays at Penn Station and in the New York City subway system. Exacerbating the issues at Penn Station is six weeks of track repairs by Amtrak that will likely cause significant delays beginning on July 7.

“Now even if Amtrak could get this done in six weeks, if you reduce trains coming into Penn by 20% it will be a summer of hell for commuters,” Gov. Cuomo said. “You will have thousands of commuters looking for other ways to get into Manhattan. They will be going to the subway, which will overburden an already overburdened subway.”

Gov. Cuomo outlined both short term and long term solutions to the problems at Penn Station. The governor issued a letter to President Donald Trump on Sunday asking that the administration expedite the Gateway Tunnel project and other projects in and around Penn Station.

At his address on Tuesday, the governor said, “The intolerable state of disrepair in Penn Station and its ripple effect of delays and dysfunction throughout the subway system have reached a breaking point, and we must enact this comprehensive action plan now to find both short and long term solutions to these growing challenges, upgrade outdated infrastructure and meet the needs of current and future generations of New Yorkers.”

The governor said he is establishing a task force to develop a short-term transit solution to the expected delays this summer, as well as long-term systemic changes. Additionally, he is proposing “The MTA Genius Transit Challenge,” a competition to find solutions to the systemic challenges with the subway system. The state could hand out a $1 million “Genius” award for the best ideas.

Perhaps the most controversial of the possible long-term solutions the governor has put on the table include New York State or the Port Authority taking over Penn Station operations. The governor says New York State would use design-build in combination with a public-private partnership to perform the emergency repairs and operate Penn Station in the long-term. As part of this effort, the state would combine Penn Station with the Farley Train Hall, the new LIRR concourse, along with the Gateway Tunnel to create “one reimagined, unified transit hub.” Other options include the Port Authority taking over Penn Station or Amtrak using a private contractor to operate Penn Station.

“This multi-pronged effort will address the chronic failures of the system and make critical, long overdue upgrades to ensure our system is of the highest caliber,” Gov. Cuomo said. “After decades of neglect, it's time to seize the opportunity to make real changes to our transportation system.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie released a statement on Tuesday that revealed that Amtrak plans to retain contractor HTNB to provide assistance to expedite the upcoming track repairs.

“I still agree with Governor Cuomo that the long-term solution for this, as we jointly recommended last week, is to get a private operator in to make sure that a private operator runs Penn Station and that infrastructure. Given Amtrak's duplicity, their dishonesty, and their inability to be able to keep this infrastructure in a state of good repair, we can't any longer for a long-term solution rely upon Amtrak, but in the short term we need these repairs made and made as quickly as possible by Amtrak.”

New York

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie released a statement on Tuesday that revealed that Amtrak plans to retain contractor HTNB to provide assistance to expedite the upcoming track repairs.

Instant Insights /

Cuomo Looks to Avert 'Summer of Hell for Commuters'

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