The U.S. Department of Transportation on March 23 reported selecting the AECOM-led joint venture with LiRo-Hill to provide project management services for the Penn Station New York “Transformation” Project, which is slated to begin construction by the end of 2027.
The AECOM-LiRo NYPennT Joint Venture will work with Amtrak and the Master Developer—to be selected in May and announced in June—on the long-delayed project, which is slated to renovate and modernize the station; increase concourse capacity and access; enable safer and more efficient operations; accommodate passenger service growth; and deliver what USDOT said will be a “world-class experience” for users (download Fact Sheet below). In Fiscal Year 2024, PSNY welcomed more than 12 million people—nearly 18% of total Amtrak ridership and nearly 45% of Northeast Corridor ridership. It supports more than 1,000 daily train movements among Amtrak, New Jersey Transit (NJT), and MTA Long Island Rail Road across 21 tracks.
USDOT on March 23 also announced that:
- NJT “has become a key partner in the transformation” project.
- Amtrak has met with each of the three qualified Master Developer teams—Penn Forward Now (Fengate), Penn Transformation Partners (Halmar), and Grand Penn Partners (Macquarie)—that have been shortlisted to compete to lead Penn Station project delivery, so they could discuss their design proposals (download the list of short listed teams and their member firms below).
- “Early work has started to progress on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities and the Service Optimization Study [on ways to accommodate passenger service growth at New York Penn Station and the surrounding region] with the Federal Railroad Administration.”
- Preliminary design and NEPA activities are “set to occur from Summer 2026 to the end of 2027, coinciding with the start of construction.”
In August 2025, USDOT and Amtrak announced the project’s schedule and a $43 million federal grant to Amtrak to jumpstart the work, supporting project development and the Master Developer solicitation—which they kicked off in October inviting interested parties to submit their Letters of Interest through Amtrak’s Procurement Portal—as well as permitting and some preliminary design engineering work. In October, Amtrak also announced the selection of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as the project’s Legal Advisor, KPMG as the Financial Advisor, and AKRF as the project’s environmental consultant to help structure the P3 (Public-Private Partnership) project approach and agreements. Additionally, FRA initiated the Project’s Service Optimization Study, which was expected to take 18 months.
“Reaching another milestone with USDOT for the Penn Station Transformation Project reflects our ongoing commitment to keeping this project right on schedule and being transparent with updates,” Amtrak Special Advisor Andy Byford said. “The excitement for this project continues to build with each step, and we are looking forward to continuing our momentum with more future milestones that will ultimately bring a world-class station in the heart of New York City.”
