Feds Reveal How Much They Plan To Spend On Penn Station Renovation

NEW YORK CITY — The Trump administration has revealed how much they are planning to spend for the rebuild of Penn Station.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy disclosed during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the administration plans to spend $8 billion on the project.

"When it comes to our rail, we’re making generational improvements to the Northeast Corridor,” Duffy said during his opening testimony.

He then mentions the "transformative investment in New York’s Penn Station" of $8 billion.

Duffy's comments are the first time the administration has indicated spending figures for the Penn Station project.

He repeated the figure again when responding to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand who was making remarks on the administration trying to withhold transportation funding from New York.

“We’re going to give $8 billion to rebuild Penn Station. Is that a joke?," Duffy said.

President Donald Trump took control of the project from the MTA last year with Amtrak now in charge.

Amtrak, backed by USDOT, will handle the remainder of the renovation project. Federal officials have said that the move will save taxpayers $120 million.

The long-awaited renovation plans for Penn Station are expected to start by 2027.

One of three finalists will be announced by Amtrak as the developer for the renovation project sometime next month.

Total costs for the project are not known at this time.

The transportation department has issued a grant of $43 million to Amtrak toward preliminary engineering work on the project.