First phase of Penn Station modernization opens

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

An expanded West End Concourse, the first phase of the modernization and transformation of New York Penn Station, is open.

The new concourse will provide direct access to 17 of the station’s 21 tracks, will connect the future Moynihan Train Hall to Penn Station underground via 33rd Street and provide a direct connection to the 8th Avenue Subway.

The West End Concourse Expansion is part of the Pennsylvania Station-Farley Complex plan to redevelop the Farley Building, creating a new 255,000 square foot Train Hall to house passenger facilities for the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak. A final agreement on the $1.6 billion redevelopment of the Penn-Farley Complex allowing for major construction to begin has been reached.

“The state-of-the-art-infrastructure, technology upgrades and wayfinding improvements of the expanded West End concourse will provide immediate relief for passengers enduring increasing congestion and overcrowding in Penn Station and help New Yorkers get to where they need to go better and faster,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “With the final agreement allowing for major construction to begin, we are moving full speed ahead in our work to build a bolder, fully modernized Penn-Farley Complex, bringing Penn Station out of the Dark Ages and into the 21st century.”

The new West End Concourse increases passenger circulation and streamlines train operations by doubling the length and width of the original concourse, providing new stairways connecting with nine of Penn Station’s eleven train platforms and adding an additional passenger elevator on each platform for comfort and increased ADA accessibility. These new vertical access points will allow passengers to enter and leave the platforms faster and more easily, reducing dwell time for the trains on these platforms during boarding and disembarking.

The expanded West End Concourse also features state-of-the-art facilities and technology designed to improve overall passenger experience, including digital media screens for train information, graphic way-finding to improve navigation for riders, upgraded high-tech and energy-efficient LED lighting and year-round climate control.

“The expanded West End Concourse will take tremendous pressure off of the overcrowded Penn Station complex, and attract visitors and community residents to the food, shopping and grandeur of the entire complex. Once complete, Moynihan Station is poised to be one of the greatest transportation and infrastructure legacies of our generation,” said U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY).

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