Can Amtrak Afford Its New NYC Home?

The shortcomings of New York's Penn Station are clear all year round, but they come into view most painfully during the holiday rush. At the current Penn Station, intercity passengers traveling on Amtrak pack into the same inadequately sized waiting area with New Jersey Transit commuters, hoping to get a jump on the track announcements. Travelers arriving at the station must push through the crowds to reach a street exit or weave through the station's catacombs to find a subway connection. According to a 2010 report by the state of New York [PDF], Penn Station is the "busiest, most congested, passenger transportation facility in North America" on a daily basis — with a greater traffic flow than all three of New York City's airports combined.

The situation is expected to improve considerably with the construction of the new Moynihan Station. The project — named for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, its original proponent — has been in the works since the early 1990s. Moynihan Station will occupy part of the massive Farley Post Office building just across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station. Once completed the station will be the new intercity rail hub for New York and the fulcrum of travel in the lucrative Northeast Corridor. The only problem is that Amtrak now says it can't afford to leave Penn Station unless it can occupy Moynihan "effectively rent-free," reports Bloomberg.