Station project may be delayed
Amtrak mismanagement could delay by three months Penn Station’s expansion across Eighth Ave. into the Farley Post Office, says a report published Wednesday by the railroad’s inspector general.
Gov. Cuomo has for months said the shiny new station — named Moynihan Train Hall after the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan — would open by the end of 2020.
But mishaps early on in the project on top of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could push the debut back to March, the IG report states.
The hall will serve as Amtrak’s New York hub and offer an alternative to Penn Station for NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road riders while they wait for their trains. The space will also include retail, and Facebook last month inked a deal to occupy 730,000 square feet in the building.
The project was supposed to be completed by March 2021. At Cuomo’s request, the time line was moved up three months — but the IG says that deadline is unlikely to be met.
Amtrak committed to $106 million of work on the $1.6 billion project — including installing ventilation systems and a wayfinding system for passengers.
A combination of inexperienced managers and no set construction schedule on the Amtrak portion led to cost overruns, the report states.
Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams asserted the new train hall will open in December.
“We have already taken significant steps to improve project management of the Moynihan Train Hall project, including firmly controlling overspend and current budget, reviewing all potential change orders and providing executive oversight governance,” he said.