A joint venture between two New York headquartered firms, Halmar International and LLC/RailWorks has won a design build contract for the Penn Station Access Project, which will link Metro-North services from the Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut to Penn Station and Manhattan’s west side.
Construction on the $2.87bn project is due to take 63 months, creating 4,500 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs.
When completed, the new service will cut travel times from the East Bronx to Penn Station by 50 minutes and 75 minutes in each direction to Connecticut.
Services traveling on the New Haven Line on the west side will be reduced by 40 minutes, since passengers will not need to travel via Grand Central.
A second Metro-North terminal in Manhattan will be built and the service will use Amtrak’s existing Hell Gate Line, limiting unnecessary construction work.
Four new stations will be built and the existing two-track railroad will be upgraded into a four-track section with 19 miles of rehabilitated track.
Work on the project includes rehabilitation of four bridges, reconfiguration of Metro-North’s New Rochelle Yard, five new and two upgraded substations and the modernisation of signal, power and communication infrastructure.
Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, said: “Metro-North is coming to the east Bronx, and bringing faster commutes with it.
“This one project by itself is a big step forward for environmental justice, environmentally sustainable transportation, the Bronx economy and regional interconnectivity, and yet another example of our ongoing efforts to make sure that all New Yorkers have the modernized transportation systems they deserve.”
Jamaal Bowman, representative for New York’s 16th congressional district, said: “Transportation issues in my district impact the daily lives of my constituents. The Penn Station Access Project which includes expansion for Metro-North rail lines in the Bronx and Westchester including at New Rochelle Yard is critical.
“This project has been an empty promise to our state and my district for too long.”
