Gov. Cuomo: NY Shouldn't Pay For Penn Station 'Summer Of Hell'

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Imagine paying $50 million for a product that doesn't work. You'd want your money back. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo feels the same way about Penn Station.

The governor announced Thursday that Amtrak should pay the full cost of its planned summer infrastructure work and that the MTA should stop paying its annual $50 million to Amtrak for use of Penn Station until problems at the transit hub are fixed.

"My answer is clear and simple – Amtrak must pay," Cuomo said in a statement Thursday. "The Long Island Railroad currently pays Amtrak approximately $50 million per year for rent of the tracks at Penn Station. As the tracks are not available due to Amtrak’s actions, they are liable for the resulting damages."

Cuomo "strongly" urged the MTA to recover its rent payments from Amtrak and even said he would consider passing a law preventing the MTA's board from making rent payments if they continued to do so.

To repair its crumbling track infrastructure at Penn Station, Amtrak will be replacing tracks, signals and switches from July 10 to Sept. 1. During the repairs Amtrak regional trains will be canceled on a number of routes, and long-distance trains to New Orleans will run out of Washington D.C. rather than New York.

But Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit commuters — who make up most of the 500,000 people who use Penn Station every day — will also be greatly affected by the work.

The MTA — which operates the Long Island Railroad — recently announced its plan to aid commuters this summer.

The MTA will:

1. Increase rush hour capacity by modifying train schedules and lengthening trains
2. Launch bus and ferry services as alternative options for commuting into Manhattan
3. Reduce congestion on roadways into Manhattan
4. Launch a "robust public awareness campaign"

Read more about the plan here.

"We do not know at this time what the total cost of mitigation will be, but I believe as a matter of principle, whatever the ultimate cost, it should not be borne by the commuters or taxpayers of the State of New York," Cuomo said in a statement Thursday.

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