The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has published the Environmental Assessment for its Metro-North Penn Station Access project, which will bring Metro-North service to the west side commuter hub and add four new stations in the Bronx.
The publication begins a 45-day period for public consultation.
The project will bring local MTA rail service to the rail line currently used by Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor for the first time and will significantly reduce travel times for East Bronx residents. The commute from Parkchester to Penn Station, currently up to 60 minutes, will be cut to as little as 20 minutes. The commute from Hunts Point to Penn Station, currently up to 45 minutes, will be cut to as little as 16 minutes. In addition to quicker access to Midtown Manhattan, East Bronx residents will now have access to job and leisure destinations that were previously difficult to reach in Westchester and Connecticut.
As part of the project, four new Metro-North stations will be built at Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park and Co-op City.
“Additional mass transit capacity is always a plus for the environment. With this project we also have the additional environmental benefit of rebuilding an existing rail facility to provide more service for more people rather than building a whole new line from scratch,” Janno Lieber, the President of MTA Construction & Development said.
On May 13, the Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the resumption of Penn Station Access Project which has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reopened process will result in the selection of a company to design and build the four new Metro-North Railroad stations and make track upgrades in the Bronx and bring Metro-North to the East Bronx. The MTA had identified three consortia qualified to bid for the project in February 2020.
Metro-North Penn Access riders from the Bronx and the New Haven Line will arrive at a Penn Station that will ultimately be transformed from the confines long familiar to Long Island Rail Road riders. The spacious new Moynihan Train Hall and a new entrance at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue opened earlier this year. Work is now underway to nearly double the width and increase the height of the 33rd Street corridor that is the central spine of the Long Island Rail Road concourse.
The construction of the four new Bronx Metro-North stations comes at the same time the MTA is working to transform Penn Station into a world-class, 21st-century transport hub by doubling the width and increasing the height of the 33rd Street corridor at Penn Station.
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