Months into new job at Amtrak, Andy Byford blasts boss’s Penn …

Amtrak's plan to tear down a block in Midtown to expand Penn Station is facing unexpected criticism from a high-profile executive within the agency.

Andy Byford, the former NYC Transit president who joined Amtrak ^[1] in April as an executive overseeing high-speed rail, said last month that the plan was unnecessary.

“It would break my heart to see beautiful buildings torn down on Eighth and Seventh Avenues when they don’t need to be,” said Byford, whom New Yorkers nicknamed “Train Daddy” when he worked for the MTA from 2018 to 2020.

He made the comments — which were first covered by the Daily News editorial board ^[2] — during a July 20 Zoom meeting held by the group ReThink NYC on the future of Penn Station.

The criticism came as New York, New Jersey and Amtrak officials continue to move forward with the Gateway Program ^[3] that aims to build two new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing tunnels that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The program also included plans to expand Penn, which would require the seizure and demolition of a swath of buildings south of 31st Street on a site known as Block 780.

Byford's remarks are just the latest example of an unflinching habit of publicly criticizing his employer’s major initiatives. He regularly made headlines during his tenure in New York for his clashes with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He frequently disagreed ^[4] with the governor’s vision for the MTA.

Listen to Byford's full remarks below

During the Zoom meeting, Byford said his remarks reflected his views as a “railway professional,” not those of Amtrak’s leadership.

Byford also laid into Gov. Kathy Hochul's and the MTA's $7 billion plan to overhaul the existing Penn Station.

The redesign would add higher ceilings, more natural lights and new entrances to the station — but Byford said officials should instead force Madison Square Garden to relocate to allow for a complete overhaul of Penn.

“It’s not just about building something that’s more aesthetically pleasing — important as though that is, Penn Station is kind of an embarrassment — but you can’t fix it by just putting in a few light boxes, by just heightening the ceilings, by just widening a few corridors,” Byford said.

Byford also argued that expanding Penn Station a block south would not be necessary if the train hub employed “through-running,” or consolidated NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road service so each railroad wouldn’t need to stop and turn around after reaching Midtown.

He said he oversaw similar changes as the head of London’s transit system from 2020 to 2022 through the completion of the Elizabeth Line that now runs through the city’s center.

“Why not take the opportunity to fix the damn thing once and for all, which is, I’m going to say: get rid of the pillars, which means move MSG, but at the very least, do something with the track configuration to enable through-running,” Byford said.

Byford did not respond to a request for comment.

The strategy could allow for more service in and out of Penn Station, according to advocates who support the change. But consolidating the services has never received serious consideration from elected officials on either side of the Hudson River.

“Get on a LIRR train in Mineola, and travel all the way to Connecticut. Board a NJT train in Newark, travel to Westchester or upstate,” ReThinkNYC’s website describes. The group argues through-running could be possible at Penn Station if its platforms were widened.

Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said the railroad was looking at “a range of options to add capacity at Penn Station while minimizing impacts on existing Northeast Corridor service,” but said creating a through-running station would involve too much work on the existing infrastructure.

“These improvements would cause a significant amount of disruption to existing Amtrak, NJT and LIRR service, as well as service up and down the NEC, which supports some 20% of the nation’s GDP,” Abrams said.

Abrams also noted that officials expect to double the number of NJ Transit and Amtrak trains that run between New York and New Jersey once the new Gateway tunnels are finished and the old Hudson River tunnels are repaired, a process that’s scheduled to take more than 12 years.

“You can’t just add more capacity in terms of trains without more capacity in terms of station footprint,” Abrams said.

Still, as part of the federal requirement for expanding Penn Station a block south, officials said they are required to take a closer look into through-running as an alternative. .

“The MTA, along with Amtrak and NJT, is studying the concept of through-running as part of an ongoing feasibility study on Penn Station expansion,” said MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan.

References

^{^} joined Amtrak (gothamist.com)
^{^} covered by the Daily News editorial board (www.nydailynews.com)
^{^} move forward with the Gateway Program (gothamist.com)
^{^} disagreed (gothamist.com)