Amtrak made a public presentation yesterday on plans for expanding rail capacity at Penn Station. Amtrak consultants said they need to increase the hourly number of trains from New Jersey and plan a new multi-billion dollar underground station for New Jersey Transit. That would most likely require demolishing a block south of Penn that contains affordable homes and landmark quality buildings.
Amtrak maintains that through running, which proponents argue would allow increasing traffic within the current Penn Station, is too disruptive and would take decades to achieve. Their solution, which would throw people out of their homes, and destroy a beautiful historic church, is pretty disruptive as well.
Yesterday’s Daily News editorial entitled “End Amtrak’s Gateway lies,” said it is false for the railroads to claim that the only way to increase capacity under the Hudson is to destroy a City block. The editorial argued that the new Gateway tunnels should come into Penn and bring trains “out the other side” to Grand Central or Long Island. It also detailed what it sees as past Amtrak blunders.
All this re-confirmed our belief that the public deserves an expert, independent review of what it would take to establish though running at Penn. We are not experts. But if through running proponents are right, the public deserves to know. If Amtrak is correct, it shouldn’t mind an independent review.
The railroads say they need the ability to run 48 trains an hour into Penn, mostly to meet growing New Jersey Transit demand. The norm today is 24 trains an hour. What is their back up for that increase? Under questioning yesterday, Amtrak acknowledged they do not yet have a plan that could achieve that goal. They are “working on it.”
At a similar presentation to stakeholders a few months ago, Amtrak consultants said they agreed with proponents that expanding through running in Penn could result in 42 trains an hour. Yesterday they lowered that number without explanation. Through running is the norm in other cities in America and around the world. At the earlier presentation, Amtrak consultants said expanding through running in Penn would likely take at least another 60 years.
We’re glad the focus is on improving service for riders at Penn. But taxpayers are footing the bill. New York deserves a state-of-the-art plan that doesn’t depend on destroying parts of Midtown.
The Port Authority recently used independent peer review to redesign plans for the new 42nd Street bus terminal. It resulted in a better plan that met bus transit needs and met the concerns of local residents who opposed harming the neighborhood through demolitions.
We deserve a similar independent peer review for Penn and we need to show that the public demands an answer.
Please sign our petition which we will then send to a number of officials asking them to support an independent review of Penn Station plans.
Support Grows for Through-Running and Independent Review at Penn Station
“Amtrak cannot produce a fair and independent review of a competing plan to its own cherished blueprints. A real outsider must review all through-running plans with the mandate to make it work.” August 12 – New York Daily News Editorial “Amtrak’s Gateway Lies Persist”
“By the standards of Paris and Munich, New York has practically everything it needs to run through service.”… “With such incuriosity about best practices it’s not surprising that regional power brokers are trying to will the unnecessary Penn Expansion project into being, never mind that it has no transportation benefits despite its extravagant cost.” August 7 – Pedestrian Observations – Alon Levy, Fellow NYU Marron Institute
“Although there will be short-term disruptions, the long-term gains in efficiency and capacity make through-running a superior choice.” August 7 – The City Club of New York – Also calling for an independent review.