Moving Midtown West - Four Rail Iinvestments Vital to New York City's Future

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THE SOLUTION
FOUR CORE PROJECTS

If implemented, four long-discussed, interconnected projects would solve the challenges outlined above by creating a more expansive, efficient, and resilient rail transportation network. The four projects fall under multiple local, State, and federal jurisdictions, so coordination and consensus are essential to bring them to fruition.

1. COMPLETE MOYNIHAN STATION
A new Moynihan Station, directly across the street from Penn Station in the old Farley Post Office building, will be the new home of Amtrak. Its completion is an important step toward untangling the overcrowded, confusing conditions at Penn. Phase 1, now underway, will add stairs and escalators at the platform level that will, for the first time, allow access to the West Side through Moynihan Station; modernize passenger concourses beneath Moynihan; and add attractive new exterior entrances, drawing passengers directly into the new station.

However, in order to fully relocate Amtrak and its passengers, the State and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which own and operate Moynihan Station, will need to undertake Phase 2. Phase 2 would transform large portions of the old Post Office building into a grand public concourse with new commercial spaces, ticketing and other facilities for intercity passengers, and place a major high-quality tenant on the building's 9th Avenue side.

Phase 2 can be completed at a cost of $700 million in three years using design-build contracting. It is the State's responsibility to lead the project's key local, state, and federal stakeholders in developing a credible funding plan. To date, the City has not contributed capital funds to Moynihan. The City should be a partner, providing direct financial support or leveraging nearby assets to ensure this vital project gets underway.

A later Phase 3, in which a private developer will add new commercial space in the vicinity using available air rights, should be encouraged, but its completion is not integral to improving passenger service.

THE STATE SHOULD LEAD AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL EFFORT TO FUND AND COMPLETE MOYNIHAN STATION, THE FIRST STEP TOWARD A RECONFIGURED WEST SIDE TRANSIT CORRIDOR. FUNDING FOR GATEWAY MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT AMTRAK REAUTHORIZATION.

2. BUILD THE AMTRAK GATEWAY PROJECT
Amtrak's Gateway project will create new, desperately needed rail connections between Manhattan's West Side and New Jersey. Demand along this corridor is forecast to grow by up to fifty percent-if the necessary infrastructure is in place.

Equally important, Gateway will address the urgent need to create a second train route under the Hudson River, adding critical system redundancy and making it possible to temporarily close and modernize the existing 100-year-old tubes.

In its entirety, the Gateway project includes construction of two tunnels under the Hudson River, enhanced rail capacity at key points in New Jersey, replacement of obsolete bridges, and expansion of Penn Station to the south, adding new platforms to accommodate more trains.

The federal government, with the support of Senator Charles E. Schumer and the rest of the region's congressional delegation, enabled the first critical link when it set aside $185 million from Sandy Recovery funding for construction of a tunnel segment beneath the Hudson Yards development and to preserve the corridor needed to connect to the future Hudson River rail tunnels.

Gateway is estimated to cost $14 billion. While the next Amtrak reauthorization must be an essential funding source for the project, the State's leadership cannot wait for Congress to act. As of today, additional funding for this project has not been identified, although officials should investigate the feasibility of a public-private partnership and/or leveraging increased real estate values around a new station.

FUNDING OPTIONS FOR GATEWAY, SUCH AS A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND FINANCING DEBT THROUGH INCREASED PROPERTY TAX REVENUES FROM ENHANCED PROPERTY VALUES AND NEW DEVELOPMENT, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.

3. CREATE WEST SIDE ACCESS FOR METRO-NORTH RAILROAD
Bringing Metro-North commuters directly into Penn Station creates essential redundancy in the region's commuter rail network. When Penn Station Access for Metro-North and East Side Access for LIRR are both operational, both services will have a second terminal to use in the event that service to one is impaired. What's more, the new connection makes strong economic sense, linking New York's suburbs north of the City, Connecticut, and the Bronx to Midtown West, and streamlining connections between Metro-North, LIRR, NJ Transit, and Amtrak.

The numbers speak for themselves: MTA studies show that tens of thousands of commuters will benefit from this service every day; more than one million cars would be taken off the road and eight million trips would be taken each year.

While Metro-North cannot begin service to Penn Station until Moynihan Station is operational and LIRR commences service to Grand Central, work on this project should begin as soon as possible. This $1.2 billion project can be completed largely by improving infrastructure along existing routes and construction of six new intermediate stations in the Bronx and Manhattan.

If the MTA provides funding, the project could start as soon as 2015 and be completed in tandem with the grand opening of the MTA's East Side Access project in 2021, together transforming commuting patterns for the City.

THE MTA SHOULD INCLUDE FUNDING FOR METRO-NORTH PENN STATION ACCESS IN ITS 2015 CAPITAL BUDGET.

4. COMPLETE THE PENN STATION VISION STUDY AND PLAN FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
The poor conditions and overcrowding at Penn Station have received much deserved attention recently. A host of challenges face Penn Station, including physical constraints, logistical issues between three major rail transportation agencies, and finding workable solutions beneath a major entertainment and commercial complex.

Amtrak, the MTA, and NJ Transit are currently working on a Penn Station Vision Study, which is designed to propose improvements that can commence once Moynihan Station is complete. Any proposal must be compatible with the Gateway Project plans to expand Penn Station to the south. The goal will be to improve circulation, reduce overcrowding, and facilitate seamless travel throughout the region.