The US Department of Transportation and Amtrak have issued a call for letters of interest from prospective master developers, launching procurement on a public-private partnership to transform New York's Penn Station.
The parties have KPMG, Hunton Andrews Kurth and AKRF as advisers to provide support in shaping a P3 strategy to attract private investment, streamline approvals and evaluate solutions, Amtrak said. A service optimisation study has been initiated to look at how to accommodate passenger service growth at the station and surrounding region.
The selection of a master developer is expected to be made by the end of May and construction is expected to start by the end of 2027. USDOT will provide Amtrak with nearly US$43m in federal funding to jumpstart the project. The Trump administration has championed a P3 model for Penn Station as the administration looks to harness private sector innovation and capital to minimise financial risk to taxpayers.
In April, USDOT secretary Sean Duffy said USDOT and Amtrak were taking control of the Penn Station overhaul from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The cost of the prior Penn Station plan was estimated at US$7.6bn. Competing plans have been submitted by Italy's ASTM and midtown New York nonprofit alliance Grand Penn Community Alliance, backed by Republican donor Thomas Klingenstein and led by chief architect Alexandros Washburn.
Penn Station supports more than 1,000 daily train movements between Amtrak, NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad across 21 tracks.
