183-576: The North River Tunnels are a pair of rail tunnels that carry Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passenger lines under the Hudson River between Weehawken , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan , New York City , New York . Built between 1904 and 1908 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to allow its trains to reach Manhattan, they opened for service in late 1910. The tunnels allow
366-463: A cut that was later covered and built over. The structure above it was supported by 650 steel columns, each supporting a weight of up to 1,658 short tons (1,480 long tons; 1,504 t). East of the station, tracks 5–21 merged into two three-track tunnels, which then merged into the East River Tunnels' four tracks. West of the station, at approximately Ninth Avenue, all 21 tracks merged into
549-550: A "quasi-public corporation" to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains. Matters were brought to a head on June 21, 1970, when the Penn Central , the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy, filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains. In October 1970, Congress passed, and President Richard Nixon signed into law (against the objections of most of his advisors),
732-683: A "transitional CEO" who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership. On November 17, 2016, the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program. GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak. The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, to build
915-677: A $ 161 million partially refundable pre-payment of insurance premiums was also made. Subsequently, Amtrak's timetable for beginning its trans-Hudson project was advanced. This was in part due to the cancellation of ARC, a project similar in scope, but with differences in design. Amtrak's plan for a new Trans-Hudson tunnel, the Gateway Program , was unveiled on February 7, 2011, by Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman and New Jersey Senators Menendez and Frank Lautenberg . The announcement also included endorsements from New York Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak's Board of Directors. Officials said Amtrak would take
1098-617: A 63% reduction in service. During the duration of construction, passengers would have to use overcrowded PATH trains , buses, and ferries to get between New Jersey and New York. On the other hand, if the new Gateway tunnel is built, it would allow an additional 24 trains per hour to travel under the Hudson River, supplementing the 24 trains per hour that could use the existing North River tubes. Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation , doing business as Amtrak ( / ˈ æ m t r æ k / ; reporting marks AMTK , AMTZ ),
1281-472: A billion passengers. A Greyhound Lines bus terminal was built to the north of Penn Station, facing 34th Street, in 1935. However, within a decade, the bus terminal had gone into decline, and was frequented by low-level criminals and the homeless. The Greyhound bus terminal soon saw competition from the Port Authority Bus Terminal , located seven blocks north of Penn Station. Opened in 1950, it
1464-507: A comparative advantage to its competitors offering service to the west and south. The Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Central of New Jersey (CNJ), Erie , and the Lackawanna railroads began their routes at terminals in New Jersey , requiring travelers bound for New York City to use ferries or the interstate Hudson and Manhattan Railroad to traverse the Hudson River. During World War I and
1647-532: A cross-Hudson bridge had to be a joint project with other New Jersey railroads, which were not interested. The alternative was to tunnel under the river, but steam locomotives could not use such a tunnel due to the accumulation of pollution in a closed space, and the New York State Legislature prohibited steam locomotives in Manhattan after July 1, 1908. The idea of a Midtown Manhattan railroad hub
1830-521: A day's pay for 100-to-150-mile (160 to 240 km) workdays. Streamliners covered that in two hours. Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s. Passenger service route-miles fell from 107,000 miles (172,000 km) in 1958 to 49,000 miles (79,000 km) in 1970, the last full year of private operation. The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks, airplanes, and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue. In direct response,
2013-625: A few hundred yards east of the river's eastern shore; and a larger one in Weehawken, a few hundred yards west of the river's western shore. Construction on the Weehawken Shaft started in June 1903. It was completed in September 1904 as a concrete-walled rectangular pit, 56 by 116 ft (17.1 by 35.4 m) at the bottom and 76 ft (23.2 m) deep. When the shafts were complete, O'Rourke began work on
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#17328548891222196-474: A garland of sunflowers in her hand, looking down at passengers, while Night was depicted with a serious expression and a cloak over her head. The Day and Night sculptures were each accompanied by two small stone eagles. There were also 14 larger, freestanding stone eagles placed on Penn Station's exterior. Penn Station was the largest indoor space in New York City and one of the largest public spaces in
2379-564: A large overhang of debt from years of underfunding. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch. Under Downs, Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a $ 2.3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis. However, Congress also instituted a "glide path" to financial self-sufficiency, excluding railroad retirement tax act payments. George Warrington became
2562-486: A masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and one of the great architectural works of New York City. Underground, the station contained 11 platforms serving 21 tracks, in approximately the same layout as the current Penn Station, which has had various intervening modifications. The original building was one of the first stations to include separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, and when built, these were among
2745-479: A maximum of 24 bidirectional crossings per hour, and operate near capacity during peak hours. The tunnels were damaged by extensive flooding brought on by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, causing frequent delays in train operations. In May 2014, Amtrak then stated that one or both of the tunnels would have to be shut down within the next twenty years. In May 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) approved construction of two new tunnels. The new tunnels, dubbed
2928-558: A new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century-old tunnel, and the Portal North Bridge, to replace a century-old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure. Later projects of the Gateway Program, including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York, construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in
3111-498: A reason for constructing a tunnel rather than a bridge, since the cost of a tunnel would be one-third that of a bridge. The North River Tunnels themselves would consist of between two and four steel tubes with a diameter of 18.5 to 19.5 feet (5.6 to 5.9 m). The New York Tunnel Extension quickly gained opposition from the New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners, who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over
3294-503: A shopping arcade that led westward into the station. The arcade measured 45 feet (14 m) wide by 225 feet (69 m) long, with a similar width to 32nd Street. Cassatt modeled the arcade after those in Milan and Naples, filling it with high-end boutiques and shops. The stores were included because Cassatt wanted to give passengers a cultural experience upon their arrival in New York. At
3477-477: A statue designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman in the station's grand arcade, subsequently moved to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania after the station's demolition. An inscription below it read: Alexander Johnston Cassatt · President, Pennsylvania Railroad Company · 1899–1906 · Whose foresight, courage and ability achieved · the extension of
3660-446: A structure measuring 1,500 feet (460 m) long by 500 feet (150 m) wide, with three floors open to passengers and 25 tracks. Cassatt had wanted to build a hotel above the station, but McKim had dismissed the proposal, having been opposed to high-rise buildings. According to architectural writer Leland Roth, the absence of the hotel eliminated income that could have helped the station's preservation in later years. As part of
3843-458: A terminal that surpassed Grand Central Depot in scale. Many proposals for a cross-Hudson connection were advanced in the late 19th century, but financial panics in the 1870s and 1890s scared off potential investors. In any event, none of the proposals advanced during this time were considered feasible. The PRR considered building a rail bridge across the Hudson, but the state of New York insisted that
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#17328548891224026-489: A viable solution in the long term; a ferry trip across the Hudson River lasted 20 minutes in good weather. The rival New York Central Railroad (NYC)'s line transported passengers from the Hudson Valley in the city's north, ran along Park Avenue in Manhattan, and terminated at Grand Central Depot (later Grand Central Terminal ) at 42nd Street and Park Avenue. PRR president Alexander Johnston Cassatt wanted to build
4209-561: A year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. Politico noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes." Joseph H. Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008. In 2011, Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand
4392-637: Is managed as a for-profit organization . The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Amtrak is headed by a Board of Directors, two of whom are the Secretary of Transportation and CEO of Amtrak, while the other eight members are nominated to serve a term of five years. Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 miles (34,000 km) of track. It directly owns approximately 623 miles (1,003 km) of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track;
4575-596: Is owned by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line .) This mainline became Amtrak's "jewel" asset, and helped the railroad generate revenue. While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system, the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming. As a result, Amtrak's federal subsidy
4758-575: Is powered by overhead lines ; for the rest of the system, diesel-fueled locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in the frequency of service, from three-days-a-week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor. For areas not served by trains, Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses, vans, ferries and other modes. The most popular and heavily used services are those running on
4941-453: Is the largest host to Amtrak routes, with 6.3 million train-miles. Freight rail operators are required under federal law to give dispatching preference to Amtrak trains. However, Amtrak has accused freight railroads of violating or skirting these regulations, resulting in passenger trains waiting for freight traffic to clear the track. Pennsylvania Station (1910%E2%80%931963) Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated to Penn Station )
5124-456: Is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces . Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track. Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but
5307-437: Is willing to pay for, and ultimately deserves." The architectural community in general was surprised by the announcement of the head house's demolition. Modern architects rushed to save the ornate building, although it was contrary to their own styles . They called the station a treasure and chanted "Don't Amputate – Renovate" at rallies. Despite the controversy generated over the demolition, Felt stated that he "believed that
5490-734: The California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver and revived the Auto Train , a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles. Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I-95 running between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando) on the Silver Star alignment. In 1980s and 1990s, stations in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. received major rehabilitation and
5673-442: The 10 largest metropolitan areas and 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles (645 km). In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways . Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation. Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. As
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5856-570: The Acropolis of Athens . The rest of the facade was modeled on St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, as well as the Bank of England headquarters. The colonnades embodied the sophisticated integration of multiple functions and the circulation of people and goods. The colonnades had a strong horizontal orientation, interrupted only by the lunette windows and the roof of the waiting room. The ornamentation
6039-472: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains, ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country. The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old, worn out, and in need of replacement. As passenger service declined, various proposals were brought forward to rescue it. The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that
6222-1004: The COVID-19 pandemic , Amtrak continued operating as an essential service. It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17, and limited sales to 50% of capacity. Most long-distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020. In March 2021, following President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan announcement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state-supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance. This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas , Phoenix , Baton Rouge , Nashville , Chattanooga , Louisville , Columbus (Ohio) , Wilmington (North Carolina) , Cheyenne , Montgomery , Concord , and Scranton . Also in March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long-distance routes to daily schedules later in
6405-561: The East River and the East Side of Manhattan, would divert some LIRR traffic to Grand Central; it was completed in January 2023. The Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel or THE Tunnel , which later took on the name of the study itself, was meant to address the western, or Hudson River, crossing. Engineering studies determined that structural interferences made a new terminal connected to Grand Central or
6588-662: The East River to the east. Cassatt's vision for the terminal itself was inspired by the Gare d'Orsay , a Beaux-Arts style station in Paris. The original proposal for the station, which was published in June 1901, called for the construction of a bridge across the Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and PRR. This would allow passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without having to switch trains. In December 1901,
6771-518: The East River , and in both situations, passengers had to transfer to ferries to Manhattan . This put the PRR at a disadvantage relative to its arch competitor, the New York Central Railroad , which already served Manhattan. After unsuccessfully trying to create a bridge over the Hudson River, the PRR and the LIRR developed several proposals for improved regional rail access in 1892, as part of
6954-615: The Frick Collection , or the old Waldorf–Astoria , razed for the construction of the Empire State Building . He claimed that it broke a long tradition of New Yorkers accepting that "what replaced a beloved building would be as good or better." The controversy over the original head house's demolition is cited as a catalyst for the architectural preservation movement in the United States, particularly in New York City. In 1965, two years after Penn Station's demolition commenced,
7137-562: The Gateway Tunnels , are scheduled to open in 2035, while rehabilitation of the old tunnels is set to be completed by 2038. The PRR had consolidated its control of railroads in New Jersey with the lease of United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1871, extending its network from Philadelphia northward to Jersey City . Crossing the Hudson River remained an obstacle; to the east, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) ended at
7320-640: The Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation. Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance. A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn
7503-476: The Interstate Highway System . The PRR recorded its first-ever annual operating losses in 1947, and intercity rail passenger volumes continued to decline dramatically over the next decade. By the 1950s, its ornate pink granite exterior had become coated with grime. During the decade, the PRR relied increasingly on real estate to keep it profitable. A renovation in the late 1950s covered some of
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7686-596: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority , was a Major Investment Study that looked at public transportation ideas for the New York metropolitan area . It found that long-term goals would best be met by better connections to and in-between the region's major rail stations in Midtown Manhattan , Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal . The East Side Access project, which includes tunnels under
7869-522: The New York Tunnel Extension project. The proposals included new tunnels between Jersey City and Manhattan, and possibly one to Brooklyn ; a new terminal in Midtown Manhattan for both the PRR and LIRR, completion of the Hudson Tubes (later called PATH ), and a bridge proposal. These proposals finally came to fruition at the turn of the century, when the PRR created subsidiaries to manage
8052-613: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail , but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak. Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1, 1976. (The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak. The route from New Haven to New Rochelle
8235-517: The 1990s several proposals were developed to build additional tunnels under the Hudson, both to add capacity for Northeast Corridor traffic and to allow repairs to be made to the existing deteriorated tunnels. A plan to repair the tunnels and add new tubes was approved in 2021. Access to the Region's Core (ARC), launched in 1995 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), NJ Transit, and
8418-552: The 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses , air travel , and the car . New streamlined diesel-powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend. By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion. Traffic surged during World War II , which
8601-467: The Bergen portals. Under the river itself, the tunnels started in rock, using drill and blast, but the strata under the river was pure mud for a considerable depth. As a result, this part was driven under compressed air, using 194-ton shields that met about 3,000 feet (910 m) from the Weehawken and Manhattan portals. The mud was such that the shield was shoved forward without taking any ground; however, it
8784-599: The California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2.35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls , via Albany and Buffalo , which carried 613.2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021, and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394.3 thousand passengers that same year. Four of
8967-448: The DOT's analysis was far too optimistic, with director George Shultz arguing to cut the number of routes by around half. Nixon agreed with Shultz, and the public draft presented by Volpe on November 30 consisted of only 16 routes. The initial reaction to this heavily-cut-back proposed system from the public, the press, and congressmen was strongly negative. It made front-page headlines across
9150-632: The Eighth Avenue side's mezzanine. A layer of dirt covered the interior and exterior of the structure, and the pink granite was stained with gray. Another architectural critic, Ada Louise Huxtable , wrote in The New York Times in 1963: "The tragedy is that our own times not only could not produce such a building, but cannot even maintain it." The Pennsylvania Railroad optioned the air rights of New York Penn Station to real estate developer William Zeckendorf in 1954. He had previously suggested that
9333-459: The Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991, allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station. Despite the improvements, Amtrak's ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year, amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000. In the early 1990s, Amtrak tested several different high-speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor. An X 2000 train
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#17328548891229516-586: The Exposition, was later installed under water and remains in use. Construction was completed on the Hudson River tunnels on October 9, 1906, and on the East River tunnels on March 18, 1908. Construction also progressed on Penn Station during this time. Workers began laying the stonework for the station in June 1908; they had completed it thirteen months later. New York Penn Station was officially declared complete on August 29, 1910. A small portion of Penn Station
9699-779: The Farley Post Office. Before 1910, there was no direct rail link from points west of the Hudson River into Manhattan. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)'s rail network terminated on the western side of the Hudson River , once known locally as the North River , at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey . Manhattan-bound passengers boarded ferries to cross the Hudson River for the final stretch of their journey. In 1896 alone, there were 94 million passengers traveling to Manhattan from railroad terminals in Jersey City. Ferries were not
9882-423: The Gateway Program tunnels would both be able to carry a maximum of 24 trains per hour. Capacity on the line will be doubled after rehabilitation of the old tunnels is complete. The Hudson Tunnel Project will improve resiliency on the Northeast Corridor, making service along the line more reliable with redundant capacity. The existing North River Tunnels can carry a maximum of 24 trains per hour in each direction. If
10065-551: The Gateway Program will replace, contributed to 2,000 hours of delays between 2014 and 2018. After the North River Tunnels were flooded, the Gateway Program was prioritized. In May 2014, Boardman told the Regional Plan Association that there was less than 20 years before one or both of the tunnels would have to be shut down. In July 2017, the draft Environmental Impact Study for the project was issued. Funding for
10248-601: The Gateway Project had been unclear for several years due to a lack of funding commitments from New Jersey officials and the federal government. In 2015, a Gateway Development Corporation, consisting of members from Amtrak, the Port Authority and USDOT, was created to oversee construction of the Gateway Project. The federal government and the states agreed to split the cost of funding the project. The first administration of President Donald Trump cast doubts about funding for
10431-478: The NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the high-speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from
10614-630: The NEC, including the Acela and Northeast Regional . The NEC runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. via New York City and Philadelphia. Some services continue into Virginia . The NEC services accounted for 4.4 million of Amtrak's 12.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short-haul corridors in California, the Pacific Surfliner , Capitol Corridor , and San Joaquins , which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses. Together
10797-813: The NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a "last hurrah" as demanded by the public. They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned. After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974, Louis W. Menk , chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad , remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak. Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself. Neither view had proved to be correct; popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined, while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible. The Rail Passenger Service Act gave
10980-421: The NRPC had hired Lippincott & Margulies to create a brand for it and replace its original working brand name of Railpax. On March 30, L&M's work was presented to the NRPC's board of incorporators, who unanimously agreed on the "headless arrow" logo and on the new brand name "Amtrak", a portmanteau of the words America and trak , the latter itself a sensational spelling of track . The name change
11163-414: The Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr. came out of retirement to lead Amtrak. During his time at Southern, Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak's prior managers, who all came from non-railroading backgrounds. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House. Despite frequent clashes with
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#173285488912211346-407: The New Haven and the Lehigh Valley Railroads . A side effect of the tunneling project was to open the city up to the suburbs, and, within 10 years of opening, two-thirds of the daily passengers coming through Penn Station were commuters. Richard Guy Wilson wrote that "in catching or meeting a train at Pennsylvania Station one became part of a pageant". The station put the Pennsylvania Railroad at
11529-698: The North River Tunnels and Penn Station made the PRR the only railroad with direct access to New York City from the south. In 1967 the Aldene Plan was implemented, allowing trains of the floundering Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and Reading (RDG) to run to Newark Penn Station , connecting to PRR and PATH trains to New York. The PRR merged into Penn Central Transportation in 1968. Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and in 1976 its suburban trains were taken over by Conrail , then by NJ Transit in 1983. Penn Central long-distance service (including part of today's Northeast Corridor and Empire Corridor ) had been taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Amtrak took control of
11712-436: The North River Tunnels in 1976, and NJ Transit started running trains through the tunnels under contract with Amtrak. The west portals are in North Bergen , at the west edge of the New Jersey Palisades near the east end of Route 3 at U.S. Route 1/9 ( 40°46′17″N 74°02′31″W / 40.7714°N 74.0419°W / 40.7714; -74.0419 ). They run beneath North Bergen , Union City , and Weehawken, to
11895-517: The North River Tunnels increased from 147 in 1976 to 438 in 2010. Trains ordinarily travel west (to New Jersey) through the north tube and east through the south. During the busiest hour of morning rush, about 24 trains are scheduled through the south tube, and the same number travel through the north tube in the afternoon. The tubes run parallel to each other underneath the river; their centers are separated by 37 feet (11 m). The two tracks fan out to 21 tracks just west of Penn Station. Beginning in
12078-418: The North River Tunnels' two tracks. Tracks 1–4, the station's southernmost tracks, terminated at bumper blocks at the east end of the station, so they could only be used by trains from New Jersey. Four switch towers , lettered from A to D, controlled train movements around the station. The main switch tower was Tower A, located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues; it still exists, although it is now located below
12261-447: The Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or are extensions from it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut, and Metrolink in Southern California. Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston , and Washington, D.C. , as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg ,
12444-498: The Northeast Corridor, state-supported short-haul service outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network. Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium-haul routes outside of
12627-406: The November 30th draft. These required routes only had their endpoints specified; the selection of the actual routes to be taken between the endpoints was left to the NRPC, which had just three months to decide them before it was due to start service. Consultants from McKinsey & Company were hired to perform this task, and their results were publicly announced on March 22. At the same time,
12810-411: The PRR devote a "fortune" to its upkeep, and the head house's exterior had become somewhat grimy. Those who opposed demolition considered whether it made sense to preserve a building, intended to be a cost-effective and functional piece of the city's infrastructure, simply as a monument to the past. As a New York Times editorial critical of the demolition noted at the time, "any city gets what it wants,
12993-471: The PRR had purchased were transferred to PRR ownership in 1908. Clearing the site entailed "displacing thousands of residents from the largely African-American community in what was once known as the Tenderloin district in Manhattan." The details of the track layout were finalized by 1904. A $ 5 million contract to excavate the site was awarded that June, marking the start of the construction. Overall, some 500 buildings had to be demolished to make way for
13176-673: The PRR main line to Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey . The New York Tunnel Extension branched off from the original line two miles northeast of Newark , then ran northeast across the Jersey Meadows to the North River Tunnels and New York Penn. The tunnel project included the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River and the Manhattan Transfer interchange with the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH ). The opening of
13359-492: The PRR soon added 51 trains to its daily schedule. The station also served New Haven trains to Westchester County and Connecticut after the Hell Gate Bridge opened in 1917. During half a century of operation, many intercity passenger trains arrived and departed daily to Chicago and St. Louis , where passengers could make connections to other railroads. Along with Long Island Rail Road trains, Penn Station saw trains of
13542-498: The Pennsylvania Railroad System ; · into New York City When Penn Station opened, it had a capacity of 144 trains per hour on its 21 tracks and 11 platforms. At the start of operations, there were 1,000 trains scheduled every weekday: of these, 600 were LIRR trains, while the other 400 were PRR trains. The commuting times of LIRR riders were cut by up to a half-hour. The station was so heavily used that
13725-687: The Rail Passenger Service Act. Proponents of the bill, led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains. They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), a quasi-public corporation that would be managed as a for-profit organization , but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains – while many involved in drafting
13908-595: The Reagan administration over funding, Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis, John H. Riley , the head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and with members of Congress. Limited funding led Claytor to use short-term debt to fund operations. Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s, high-speed Washington–New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules. Travel time between New York and Washington, D.C.
14091-500: The Secretary of Transportation, at that time John A. Volpe , thirty days to produce an initial draft of the endpoints of the routes the NRPC would be required by law to serve for four years. On November 24 Volpe presented his initial draft consisting of 27 routes to Nixon, which he believed would make a $ 24 million profit by 1975. The Office of Management and Budget , however, believed Volpe and
14274-539: The United States arrived in New York by rail, he would arrive and depart on tracks 11 and 12. Royalty and leaders of other countries also traveled via Penn Station. Over the next few decades, alterations were made to Penn Station to increase its capacity. The LIRR concourse, waiting room, amenities and platforms were expanded. Connections were provided to the New York City Subway stations at Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue . The electrification of Penn Station
14457-434: The aboveground portions of the building were demolished between 1963 and 1966, and the underground concourses and platforms were heavily renovated to form the current Pennsylvania Station within the same footprint. Designed by McKim, Mead, and White and completed in 1910, the station enabled direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time. Its above ground head house and train shed were considered
14640-450: The air" above the tracks. The Postmaster of New York City , William Russell Willcox , ultimately approved the post office anyway. McKim, Mead & White was selected to design the post office in 1908. By this time, the excavations were near completion and the structural steel for the post office building was being laid. The North River and East River Tunnels ran almost in a straight line between Queens and New Jersey, interrupted only by
14823-439: The below-ground concourses and waiting areas were heavily renovated, becoming the modern Penn Station, while Madison Square Garden and Pennsylvania Plaza were built above them. The sole remaining portions of the original station are the underground platforms and tracks, as well as scattered artifacts on the mezzanine level above it. Occupying two city blocks from Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue and from 31st to 33rd Streets,
15006-455: The bill did not believe the NRPC would actually be profitable, this was necessary in order for the White House and more conservative members of Congress to support the bill. There were several key provisions: Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970, only six declined to join the NRPC. Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short-lived. The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed
15189-433: The busiest, most complex section of the Northeast Corridor. In June 2017, it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak's next President & CEO. Anderson began the job on July 12, assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as "co-CEOs" until the end of the year. On April 15, 2020, Atlas Air Chairman, President and CEO William Flynn
15372-486: The center of the entrance, 61 feet (19 m) above the sidewalk, was a clock with 7-foot-diameter (2.1 m) faces. Two plaques were placed above the arcade entrance. One plaque contained inscriptions of the names of individuals who had led the New York Tunnel Extension project, while the other included carvings of franchise dates and the names of contractors. Twin 63-foot-wide (19 m) carriageways at
15555-556: The city passed a landmarks preservation act, thereby creating the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). New York City's other major railroad station, Grand Central Terminal, was also proposed for demolition in 1968 by its owner, Penn Central. Grand Central Terminal was ultimately preserved by the LPC, despite an unsuccessful challenge from Penn Central in 1978. The replacement Penn Station
15738-463: The city's largest public spaces. Passenger traffic began to decline after World War II , and in the 1950s, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold the air rights to the property and shrank the railroad station. Starting in 1963, the above-ground head house and train shed were demolished, a loss that galvanized the modern historic preservation movement in the United States. Over the next six years,
15921-465: The commission for New York Penn Station because of his friendship with Daniel Smith Newhall, the PRR's purchasing agent, who had praised McKim's work. The plans approved in December 1902 called for an "immense passenger station" on the east side of Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The project was expected to cost over $ 100 million. Though the tracks were to be entirely underground,
16104-425: The commission for the new Pennsylvania Station. McKim was pleased to receive the commission, writing to his friend Daniel Burnham , who had congratulated him. The historian Mosette Broderick wrote that McKim faced an "internal conflict" because Burnham and Cassatt had collaborated on the development of Chicago Union Station , which indicated that Cassatt had some type of "loyalty" to Burnham. McKim may have received
16287-451: The construction of a bridge across Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and PRR. This would enable passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without changing trains. In December 1901, the plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River, instead of building a bridge over it. The PRR cited costs and land value as
16470-434: The corridor to make it suitable for higher-speed electric trains. The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven, Connecticut , to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454-mile (731 km) route, and several grade crossings were improved or removed. Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in
16653-477: The country and it was quickly leaked that the DOT had wanted a far larger system than the White House would approve of. The ICC produced its own report on December 29, criticising the proposed draft and arguing for the inclusion of fifteen additional routes, giving further ammunition to the congressmen who wanted an expanded system. Further wrangling between the DOT and the White House produced the final list of routes on January 28, 1971, adding five additional routes to
16836-501: The current Penn Station unfeasible and its final design involved boring under the current rail yard to a new deep cavern terminal station under 34th Street . Amtrak had acknowledged that the region represented a bottleneck in the national system and had originally planned to complete work by 2040. The ARC project, which did not include direct Amtrak participation, was cancelled in October 2010 by New Jersey governor Chris Christie , who cited potential cost overruns. Amtrak briefly engaged
17019-399: The decorated nature of the waiting room and the utilitarian design of the tracks below. After the general shape of the vaults was determined, Purdy and Henderson designed the steelwork. The steel frame was less heavy at the top. LIRR commuters could also use an entrance on the northern side, along 34th Street. The LIRR commuter concourse was 18 feet (5.5 m) above the tracks. There
17202-419: The demolition of the station. As the dismantling of the structure began, The New York Times ' editorial board wrote, "Until the first blow fell, no one was convinced that Penn Station really would be demolished, or that New York would permit this monumental act of vandalism against one of the largest and finest landmarks of its age of Roman elegance." New York Times reporter Eddie Hausner's photograph of
17385-588: The early 1920s, the rival B&O passenger trains to Washington, D.C. , Chicago, and St. Louis also used Penn Station, initially by order of the United States Railroad Administration , until the Pennsylvania Railroad terminated the B&;O's access in 1926. Atypically for a public building, Penn Station was well maintained during its heyday. Such was the station's status that whenever the President of
17568-419: The east facade had a Doric-style colonnade. The easternmost portions of the north and south facades, adjacent to the carriageways, also contained 230-foot-wide (70 m) colonnades. Each column measured 35 feet (11 m) high by 4.5 feet (1.4 m) across. The remainder of the facade contained pilasters rather than columns. An approximately 45-foot-wide (14 m) section of the Eighth Avenue facade
17751-409: The east portals at the east edge of 10th Avenue at 32nd Street in Manhattan. When the top of the Weehawken Shaft was covered is a mystery; the two tracks may have remained open to the sky until catenary was added circa 1932. The two portals on the Manhattan side fanned out into 21 tracks just east of 10th Avenue, serving the platforms at Penn Station. 450 West 33rd Street (now Five Manhattan West ), on
17934-460: The east side of 10th Avenue, was built above the east portals in 1969. The two tubes are mostly straight and are 37 feet (11.3 m) apart. There are cross-passages spaced every 300 feet (91 m). At the Manhattan end, each tube splits into several tracks. The North River Tunnels allow a maximum of 24 crossings per hour each way. Since 2003, the tunnels have operated near capacity during peak hours. The number of NJ Transit weekday trains through
18117-589: The eastern part of the site between Seventh and Eighth Avenue. The northwestern block, bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 32nd Street, and 33rd Street, was not part of the original plan. The condemnation of 17 city-owned buildings on the station's future site, an area of four blocks, began in June 1903. All 304 parcels within the four-block area, which were collectively owned by between 225 and 250 entities, had been purchased by November 1903. The PRR purchased land west of Ninth Avenue in April 1904, such that it owned all
18300-480: The ex- New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad 's Chicago to Detroit route. The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff. At some stations, Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning, prompting complaints from passengers. Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted, temporarily cancelled, or replaced with buses. On
18483-449: The federal government was still deciding whether to build a post office next to the PRR station. The PRR planned to turn over the air rights to the blocks between Eighth and Ninth Avenues to the federal government once excavations were completed. However, the PRR would still own the land below the post office leading some Congress members to oppose the post office plan, as they believed that the government would only own "a chunk of space in
18666-527: The first time in the tunnel's history that both tubes had been completely flooded. The surge damaged overhead wires, electrical systems, concrete bench walls, and drainage systems. As a result of the storm damage and the tunnels' age, component failures within the tubes increased, resulting in frequent delays. One report in 2019 estimated that the North River Tubes and the Portal Bridge, two components that
18849-470: The gain from the new buildings and sports center would more than offset any aesthetic loss." He elaborated, "Fifty years from now, when it's time for [Madison Square Garden] to be torn down, there will be a new group of architects who will protest." Despite large public opposition to Penn Station's demolition, the New York City Department of City Planning voted in January 1963 to start demolishing
19032-667: The governor in attempt to revive the ARC Tunnel and use preliminary work done for it, but those negotiations soon broke down. Amtrak said it was not interested in purchasing any of the work. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez later said some preparatory work done for ARC may be used for the new project. Costs for the project were $ 117 million for preliminary engineering, $ 126 million for final design, $ 15 million for construction and $ 178 million real estate property rights ($ 28 million in New Jersey and $ 150 million in New York City). Additionally,
19215-469: The grand columns with plastic and blocked off the spacious central hallway with the "Clamshell", a new ticket office designed by Lester C. Tichy . Architectural critic Lewis Mumford wrote in The New Yorker in 1958 that "nothing further that could be done to the station could damage it". Advertisements surrounded the station's Seventh Avenue concourse, while stores and restaurants were crammed around
19398-554: The high-speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC, under the Hudson River in new tunnels, and double-tracking the line to Newark, NJ , called the Gateway Program , initially estimated to cost $ 13.5 billion (equal to $ 18 billion in 2023). From May 2011 to May 2012, Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day (May 7, 2011). A commemorative book entitled Amtrak: An American Story
19581-638: The job, he is the second-longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago. On December 9, 2015, Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016. He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week. On August 19, 2016, the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman as Boardman's successor with an effective date of September 1, 2016. During his term, Moorman took no salary and said that he saw his role as one of
19764-436: The land between Seventh and Tenth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Street. This land would allow the PRR to build extra railroad switches for the tracks around Penn Station. The PRR also purchased land along the north side of the future station between 33rd and 34th Streets, so the company could create a pedestrian walkway leading directly to 34th Street, a major crosstown thoroughfare. The properties between 33rd and 34th Street that
19947-541: The lead in seeking financing; a list of potential sources included the states of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York , the PANYNJ, and the MTA as well as private investors. As of 2017, the Gateway Program is expected to cost $ 12.9 billion. In October 2012, a year after the Gateway Program was announced, the North River Tubes were inundated by seawater from Hurricane Sandy , marking
20130-561: The level of the main concourse and waiting room. Running from north to south was a separate exit concourse, measuring 60 feet (18 m) wide. This concourse led to both 31st and 33rd Streets and was subsequently connected to the subway stations on Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Two stairways and one elevator led to the exit concourse from each platform. The tracks were variously cited as being 36 feet (11 m) or 45 feet (14 m) below ground. At platform level, there were 21 tracks serving 11 platforms. LIRR trains had exclusive use of
20313-617: The main avenues. The land lot occupied about 800 feet (240 m) along 31st and 33rd Streets. Over 3,000,000 cubic yards (2,300,000 m ) of dirt had been excavated during construction. The original structure was made of 490,000 cubic feet (14,000 m ) of pink granite, 60,000 cubic feet (1,700 m ) of interior stone, 27,000 short tons (24,107 long tons; 24,494 t) of steel, 48,000 short tons (42,857 long tons; 43,545 t) of brick, and 30,000 light bulbs. The superstructure consisted of about 650 steel columns. The building had an average height of 69 feet (21 m) above
20496-420: The new Hudson Tunnel is not built, the North River Tunnels will have to be closed one at a time, reducing weekday service below the existing level of 24 trains per hour. Due to the need to provide two-way service on a single track, service would be reduced by over 50 percent. In the best-case scenario, with perfect operating conditions, 9 trains per hour could be provided through the existing North River Tunnels, or
20679-437: The new Madison Square Garden Complex. A 28-story hotel and 34-story office building, now part of Penn Plaza , would be built on the eastern side of the block, facing Seventh Avenue. The arena proper would take up most of the block, facing Eighth Avenue to the west. At the time, one argument made in favor of the old Penn Station's demolition was that the cost of maintaining the structure had become prohibitive. Its grand scale made
20862-528: The new tunnels would be completed in 2035 and that the existing North River Tunnels will be rehabilitated by 2038. The project will use federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act , with the balance provided by the states of New Jersey and New York. When the new Gateway Program tunnels are built, the two North River Tunnels will close for repairs, one at a time, with the existing level of service maintained. The North River Tubes and
21045-507: The new tunnels, as well as from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its as-yet-incomplete rapid transit service. The city had initially declined to give the PRR a franchise because city officials believed that the PRR needed to grant thirteen concessions to protect city interests; the PRR ultimately conceded to nine of the city's requests. The project
21228-625: The new tunnels, as well as from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its own, then incomplete, rapid transit service. The project was approved by the New York City Board of Aldermen in December 1902, with a 41–36 vote. The North and East River Tunnels were to be built under the beds of their respective rivers, and the PRR and LIRR lines would converge at New York Penn Station , an expansive Beaux-Arts edifice situated between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The entire project
21411-400: The northeast and southeast corners, modeled after Berlin's Brandenburg Gate , led to the two railroads served by the station. One carriageway ran along the north side of the building, serving LIRR trains, while the other the south side served PRR trains. The walls of each carriageway were flanked by pilasters for a distance of 279 feet (85 m). Ramps spanned the carriageways and led into
21594-582: The old station was completed the same year. A 1968 advertisement depicted architect Charles Luckman 's model of the final plan for the Madison Square Garden Center complex. Although the demolition of the head house was justified as progressive at a time of declining rail passenger service, it also created international outrage. One of the most outspoken critics was Huxtable, who published numerous editorials in The New York Times decrying
21777-449: The original Pennsylvania Station building was designed by McKim, Mead & White . The overall plan was created by Charles Follen McKim . After McKim's health declined, William Symmes Richardson oversaw the completion of the design, while Teunis J. Van Der Bent oversaw the engineering. Covering an area of about 8 acres (3.2 ha), it had frontages of 788 feet (240 m) along the side streets and 432 feet (132 m) long along
21960-607: The other hand, the creation of the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success, resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973. Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously, Amtrak would lease around 1,200 of the best passenger cars from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. All were air-conditioned, and 90% were easy-to-maintain stainless steel. When Amtrak took over, passenger cars and locomotives initially retained
22143-471: The overall market share fell to 46% by 1950, and then 32% by 1957. The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression , but deficits reached $ 723 million in 1957. For many railroads, these losses threatened financial viability. The causes of this decline were heavily debated. The National Highway System and airports , both funded by the government, competed directly with
22326-591: The overall planning effort for it. The PRR, which had been working with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) on the Tunnel Extension plans, made plans to acquire majority control of the LIRR so one new terminal could be built in Manhattan, rather than two. The project was to include New York Penn Station; the North River Tunnels , crossing the Hudson River to the west; and the East River Tunnels , crossing
22509-433: The paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors – the "Rainbow Era". In mid-1971, Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased, including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives, 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1,290 passenger cars. By 1975, the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and
22692-484: The planning, funding and construction of the rail tunnels and bridges of Gateway Program. In February 2020, Amtrak indicated that it would go forward with the renovation of the North River Tunnels regardless of the Gateway Program's status. On May 28, 2021, the project was formally approved by USDOT, with funding still to be determined. On August 31, 2022, the Gateway Development Commission announced that
22875-532: The plans had to resemble a typical railway station while also serving as a major gateway to New York City. The new design also had to compete with that of the new Grand Central Terminal, designed by Reed & Stem . McKim studied the role of public buildings in Ancient Rome, including the Baths of Diocletian . Cassatt and McKim collaborated closely to define the structure of the station. Their original plan called for
23058-457: The plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River, instead of a bridge over it. The PRR cited costs and land value as a reason for constructing a tunnel rather than a bridge, since the cost of a tunnel would be one-third that of a bridge. The New York Tunnel Extension was quickly opposed by the New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over
23241-660: The private railroads pool their services into a single body. Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support. The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor , but this did nothing to address passenger deficits. In late 1969, multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress , including equipment subsidies, route subsidies, and, lastly,
23424-477: The project, and in December 2017, a Federal Transit Administration official called the previous funding agreement "nonexistent". In March 2018, up to $ 541 million for the project was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act . On June 24, 2019, the state governments of New York and New Jersey passed legislation to create the bi-state Gateway Development Commission, whose job it is to oversee
23607-627: The project. The Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York Railroad, incorporated on February 13, 1902, was to oversee construction of the North River Tunnels. The PNJ&NY would also be in charge of the Meadows Division, which would handle the construction of the North River Tunnel approaches on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The original proposal for the PRR and LIRR terminal in Midtown Manhattan, published in June 1901, called for
23790-558: The proposed Pennsylvania Railroad station. The technology for the tunnels connecting to Penn Station was so innovative that the PRR shipped an actual 23-foot (7.0 m) diameter section of the new East River Tunnels to the Jamestown Exposition in Norfolk, Virginia , in 1907, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the nearby founding of the colony at Jamestown . The same tube, with an inscription indicating that it had been displayed at
23973-407: The railroads, which, unlike the airline, bus, and trucking companies, paid for their own infrastructure. American car culture was also on the rise in the post-World War II years. Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad's ability to turn a profit. Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions. To take one example, workers continued to receive
24156-594: The remaining mileage is over rail lines owned by other railroad companies. While most track speeds are limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) or less, several lines have been upgraded to support top speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), and parts of the Northeast Corridor support top speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h). In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $ 2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from
24339-443: The requirement. In early 2002, David L. Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured. Highways, airports, and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from
24522-606: The river met in September 1906; at that time it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Meanwhile, the John Shields Construction Company had begun in 1905 to bore through Bergen Hill , the lower Hudson Palisades ; William Bradley took over in 1906 and the tunnels to the Hackensack Meadows were completed in April 1908. The tunnels opened November 27, 1910, when the New York Tunnel Extension to New York Penn Station opened. Until then, PRR trains used
24705-532: The rolling stock began appearing. Amtrak inherited problems with train stations (most notably deferred maintenance ) and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same communities. Chicago is a prime example; on the day prior to Amtrak's inception, intercity passenger trains used four different Chicago terminals: LaSalle , Dearborn , North Western Station , Central , and Union. The trains at LaSalle remained there, as their operator Rock Island could not afford to opt into Amtrak. Of all
24888-520: The scale of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The lower walls were of travertine , while the upper walls were expressed in a steel framework clad in plaster, decorated to resemble the lower walls. The travertine was sourced from Campagna in Italy. This made Penn Station the first major American building to use travertine. The north and south walls each contained small colonnades of six Ionic columns, which flanked
25071-468: The schedule. Amtrak uses a sliding scale, with trips under 250 miles (400 km) considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule, up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles (887 km) in length. Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads. BNSF
25254-466: The sculpture Day by Adolph Alexander Weinman, lying in a landfill in the New Jersey Meadowlands , inspired New Jersey Conservation and Economic Development Commissioner Robert A. Roe to salvage some of the head house's sculptures. New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman compared the demolition of the head house unfavorably to that of Lenox Library , destroyed to make way for
25437-508: The six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC: New York Penn Station (first), Washington Union Station (second), Philadelphia 30th Street Station (third), and Boston South Station (fifth). The other two are Chicago Union Station (fourth) and Los Angeles Union Station (sixth). On-time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak. A plane is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of
25620-498: The sixth president in 1998, with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient. Under Warrington, the company tried to expand into express freight shipping, placing Amtrak in competition with the "host" freight railroads and the trucking industry . On March 9, 1999, Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express, a high-speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Several changes were made to
25803-754: The spring. Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late-May 2021. However, a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and/or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022. Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system. Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota ). Amtrak services fall into three groups: short-haul service on
25986-453: The staircases on those walls. There were also larger Corinthian columns on pedestals, measuring about 60 feet (18 m) tall from the tops of the pedestals to the tops of the capitals . There were eight lunette windows on top of the waiting room's walls: one each above the north and south walls and three each above the west and east walls. The lunettes had a radius of 38 feet 4 inches (11.68 m). The artist Jules Guérin
26169-573: The station during its first day of full service, excluding the 25,000 commuters and intercity riders. With the station's full opening, the PRR became the only railroad to enter New York City from the south. All of the architectural details were completed by October 1911. At the station's completion, the total project cost to the Pennsylvania Railroad for the station and associated tunnels was $ 114 million (equivalent to $ 2.7 billion in 2023 ), according to an Interstate Commerce Commission report. The railroad paid tribute to Cassatt, who died in 1906, with
26352-615: The station had been demolished except for the Seventh Avenue entrance. By late 1966, much of the new station had been built. There were three new entrances: one from 31st Street and Eighth Avenue, another from 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, and a third from a driveway running mid-block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets. Permanent electronic signs were being erected, shops were being renovated, new escalators were being installed, and platforms that were temporarily closed during renovations had been reopened. Demolition of
26535-403: The station that summer. Architects protested against the decision, but to no effect. Under the leadership of PRR president Stuart T. Saunders (who later headed Penn Central Transportation), demolition of the above-ground station house began on October 28, 1963. A giant steel deck was placed above the tracks and platforms, allowing rail service to continue with only minor disruptions. This
26718-658: The station's construction, the PRR proposed that the United States Postal Service construct a post office across from the station on the west side of Eighth Avenue. In February 1903, the U.S. government accepted the PRR's proposal and made plans to construct what would later become the Farley Post Office , which was also designed by McKim, Mead & White. The PRR would also build a train storage yard in Queens east of Penn Station, to be used by both PRR trains from
26901-407: The station's northernmost four tracks, while the PRR was exclusively assigned the southernmost tracks. The two railroads shared the center tracks as necessary. An estimated 4 miles (6.4 km) of storage tracks in and around the station could store up to 386 railcars. The station contained 25 elevators for baggage and passenger use. The storage yards were located between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in
27084-416: The station. By early 1905, contractors were installing granite in the station's lower levels, and an adjacent power station on 31st Street was finished. During this time, McKim's health began to decline as he experienced stress in his personal and professional life. McKim withdrew from the project in 1906 as his health worsened, and Richardson replaced him as lead architect. Even as excavation proceeded,
27267-544: The street, though its maximum height was 153 feet (47 m). Some 25 acres (10 ha) or 28 acres (11 ha) of track surrounded Penn Station. At the time of Penn Station's completion, The New York Times called it "the largest building in the world ever built at one time". The exterior of Penn Station was marked by colonnades of Roman unfluted columns based on the Classical Greek -style Doric order . These columns, in turn, were modeled after landmarks such as
27450-431: The system with an aim to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image. However, the cash-strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations. Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights-of-way. Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s, including Penn Central, which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor (NEC), Congress passed
27633-626: The trains serving Dearborn Station, Amtrak retained only a pair of Santa Fe trains, which relocated to Union Station beginning with the first Amtrak departures on May 1, 1971. Dearborn Station closed after the last pre-Amtrak trains on the Santa Fe arrived in Chicago on May 2. None of the intercity trains that had served North Western Station became part of the Amtrak system, and that terminal became commuter-only after May 1. The trains serving Central Station continued to use that station until an alternate routing
27816-682: The tunnels proper. The project was divided into three parts, each managed by a resident engineer: the "Terminal Station" in Manhattan; the "River Tunnels", east from the Weehawken Shaft and under the Hudson River; and the Bergen Hill tunnels, west from the Weehawken Shaft to the tunnel portals on the west side of the Palisades . The tunnels were built with drilling and blasting techniques and tunnelling shields , which were placed at three locations and driven towards each other. The shields proceeded west from Manhattan, east and west from Weehawken, and east from
27999-409: The two-block site of the main building could be used for a "world trade center". The option allowed for the demolition of the main building and train shed , which could be replaced by an office and sports complex. The station's underground platforms and tracks would not be modified, but the station's mezzanines would be reconfigured. A blueprint for a "Palace of Progress" was released in 1955 but
28182-419: The waiting room and concourse. The carriageways descended to the exit concourse at the middle of the station. From there, vehicles could travel to the baggage drop on the eastern end or return to Seventh Avenue. A separate passageway along the south side of the station carried baggage to the Eighth Avenue end of the station. An open colonnade was used along the north, east, and south facades. The entirety of
28365-494: The waiting room was the main concourse area for departing passengers, with stairs directly to each platform. The floor area of the main concourse was variously cited as having floor measurements of 314.33 by 200 feet (95.81 by 60.96 m) or 208 by 315 feet (63 by 96 m). This concourse was covered by glass vaults that were held up by a plain steel framework. The glass roof measured 210 by 340 feet (64 by 104 m). McKim wanted to give "an appropriate transition" between
28548-547: The west and LIRR trains from the east. The yard was to store passenger-train cars at the beginning or end of their trips, as well as to reverse the direction of the locomotives that pulled these train cars. Land purchases for the station started in late 1901 or early 1902. The PRR purchased a site bounded by Seventh and Ninth Avenues between 31st and 33rd Streets. This site was chosen over other sites farther east, such as Herald Square , because these parts of Manhattan were already congested. Penn Station proper would be located along
28731-651: The western end of the arcade, a statue of Alexander Johnston Cassatt stood in a niche on the northern wall where 40-foot-wide (12 m) stairs descended to a waiting room where passengers could wait for their trains. There was also a statue of PRR president Samuel Rea directly across from Cassatt's statue, on the southern wall, which was installed in 1930. The expansive waiting room, which spanned Penn Station's entire length from 31st to 33rd Streets, contained traveler amenities such as long benches, men's and women's smoking lounges , newspaper stands, telephone and telegraph booths, and baggage windows. The main waiting room
28914-490: The world. The Baltimore Sun said in April 2007 that the station was "as grand a corporate statement in stone, glass and sculpture as one could imagine." Historian Jill Jonnes called the original edifice a "great Doric temple to transportation". The interior design was inspired by several sources, including French and German railway stations; St. Peter's Basilica; and the Bank of England. The main entrance on Seventh Avenue led to
29097-500: Was a historic railroad station in New York City that was built for, named after, and originally occupied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). The station occupied an 8-acre (3.2 ha) plot bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan . As the station shared its name with several stations in other cities, it was sometimes called New York Pennsylvania Station . Originally completed in 1910,
29280-459: Was adopted in March 1972. In New York City , Amtrak had to maintain two stations ( Penn and Grand Central ) due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station; a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991. The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across
29463-414: Was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing . The railroad's market share surged to 74% in 1945, with a massive 94 billion passenger-miles. After the war, railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners. These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline. Even as postwar travel exploded, passenger travel percentages of
29646-417: Was an additional mezzanine level below the main concourse and waiting room for arriving passengers; it contained two smaller concourses, one for each railroad. The smaller northern mezzanine, used by the LIRR, connected to the LIRR platforms via short stairs and to the 34th Street entrance via escalators. The smaller southern mezzanine, used by the PRR, contained stairs and elevators between the PRR platforms and
29829-423: Was approved by the New York City Board of Aldermen in December 1902 by a 41–36 vote. In April 1902, Cassatt sent a telegram to Charles McKim of the New York architectural firm McKim, Mead & White . According to one account, when McKim received the telegram, he said: "I suppose President Cassatt wants a new stoop for his house". After McKim talked with Cassatt, the architect learned that he had received
30012-468: Was built underneath Madison Square Garden at 33rd Street and Two Penn Plaza. The station spans three levels, with the concourses on the upper two levels and the train platforms on the lowest level. The two levels of concourses, while original to the 1910 station, were renovated extensively during the construction of Madison Square Garden and expanded in subsequent decades. The tracks and platforms are also largely original, except for newer track connections to
30195-518: Was commissioned to create six murals for Penn Station's waiting room. Each of his works were over 100 feet (30 m) high, placed above the tops of the Corinthian columns. The murals themselves measured 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and 70 feet (21 m) across. They contained maps depicting the extent of the PRR system. Penn Station was one of the first rail stations to separate arriving and departing passengers on two concourses. Directly adjoining
30378-414: Was divided into three large openings, which comprised a large rear entrance to the main concourse. The station contained four pairs of sculptures designed by Adolph Weinman, each of which consists of two female personifications, Day and Night . These sculptural pairs, whose figures were based on model Audrey Munson , flanked large clocks on the top of each side of the building. Day was depicted with
30561-436: Was expected to cost over $ 100 million. Led by Chief Engineer Charles M. Jacobs, the tunnel design team began work in 1902. The contract for building the North River Tunnels was awarded to O'Rourke Engineering Construction Company in 1904. Originally, the tunnel would have comprised three tubes, but this was later downsized to two tubes. The first construction work comprised the digging of two shafts: one just east of 11th Avenue
30744-609: Was fired. Gunn's replacement, Alexander Kummant (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership. He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $ 1 billion for ten years. In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers
30927-500: Was first formulated in 1901, when the Pennsylvania Railroad took interest in a new railroad approach recently completed in Paris . In the Parisian railroad scheme, electric locomotives were substituted for steam locomotives prior to the final approach into the city. Cassatt adapted this method for the New York City area in the form of the New York Tunnel Extension project. He created and led
31110-407: Was found that the shield was easier to steer if some mud was taken in through holes at the front, since the mud had the consistency of toothpaste. After the tubes had been excavated, they were lined with 2.5-foot-wide (0.76 m) segmental cast-iron rings, each weighing 22 tons. The segments were bolted together and lined with 22 inches (56 cm) of concrete. The two ends of the northern tube under
31293-803: Was increased dramatically. In subsequent years, other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak. In its first decade, Amtrak fell far short of financial independence, which continues today, but it did find modest success rebuilding trade. Outside factors discouraged competing transport, such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel, and strikes which disrupted airline operations. Investments in Amtrak's track, equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America's transportation needs. Amtrak's ridership increased from 16.6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981. In February 1978, Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 North Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C. In 1982, former Secretary of
31476-539: Was initially third rail , which provided 600 volts of direct current . It was later changed to 11,000-volt alternating current overhead catenary when electrification of PRR's mainline was extended to Washington, D.C., in the early 1930s. The expansion of electrification also allowed the PRR to begin running electric-powered commuter trains from Trenton via Newark starting in 1933; previously, steam-powered commuter trains continued to originate and terminate at Exchange Place. By 1935, Penn Station had served over
31659-408: Was inspired by Roman structures such as the baths of Caracalla , Diocletan , and Titus . The room measured 314 feet 4 inches (95.81 m) long, 108 feet 8 inches (33.12 m) wide, and 150 feet (46 m) tall. Additional waiting rooms for men and women, each measuring 100 by 58 feet (30 by 18 m), were on either side of the main waiting room. The room approximated
31842-590: Was intended to consolidate bus service. Greyhound resisted for almost a decade afterward, but by 1962 it had closed the Penn Station bus terminal and moved to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The station was busiest during World War II: in 1945, more than 100 million passengers traveled through Penn Station. The station's decline came soon afterward with the beginning of the Jet Age and the construction of
32025-409: Was intentionally simple, with emphasis being placed on the "unity and simplicity" of different parts of the design. The roof was made of Monel alloy, an Inco product. The building had entrances from all four sides. The main entrance was at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, at the center of the Seventh Avenue facade. It was the most elaborate of Penn Station's entrances. Above
32208-635: Was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993, followed by revenue service between Washington, D.C. and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993. Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany, organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3, 1993. In 1993, Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak's fifth president. The stated goal remained "operational self-sufficiency". By this time, however, Amtrak had
32391-544: Was named Amtrak President and CEO. In addition to Atlas Air, Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation , SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp. Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020. As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020, the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate-distance corridors across the country. Included were several new services in Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, and Minnesota, among other states. During
32574-407: Was not acted upon. Plans for the new Madison Square Garden above Penn Station were announced in 1962 by Irving Mitchell Felt , the president of Graham-Paige , the company that purchased the air rights to Penn Station. In exchange for the air rights, the Pennsylvania Railroad would get a brand-new, air-conditioned, smaller station completely below street level at no cost, and a 25 percent stake in
32757-438: Was opened nearly two weeks later, on September 8, in conjunction with the opening of the East River Tunnels. As a result, LIRR riders gained direct railroad service to Manhattan. Prior to the opening of Penn Station, LIRR riders entered Manhattan via the 34th Street Ferry Terminal , where they could transfer to an elevated shuttle station . The rest of the station opened on November 27, 1910. One hundred thousand people visited
32940-476: Was possible because most of the rail infrastructure, including the waiting room, concourses and platforms, was below street level. Around five hundred columns were sunk into the platforms, while passengers were routed around work areas surrounded by plywood. Madison Square Garden and two office towers were built above the extensively renovated concourses and waiting area. The first girders for Madison Square Garden were placed in late 1965, and, by mid-1966, much of
33123-445: Was publicly announced less than two weeks before operations began. Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971. Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights-of-way at its inception. All of Amtrak's routes were continuations of prior service, although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network. Of the 366 train routes that operated previously, Amtrak continued only 184. Several major corridors became freight-only, including
33306-448: Was published, a documentary was created, six locomotives were painted in Amtrak's four prior paint schemes , and an Exhibit Train toured the country visiting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85,000 visitors. After years of almost revolving-door CEOs at Amtrak, in December 2013, Boardman was named "Railroader of the Year" by Railway Age magazine, which noted that with over five years in
33489-462: Was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service. This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor. Elsewhere in the country, demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state-supported routes in California, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon and Pennsylvania, for a total of 15 state-supported routes. Amtrak added two trains in 1983,
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