Andy Byford on the Penn Station Renovation

**Brigid Bergen** (0:10)
It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergen, senior reporter in the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom, filling in for Brian today. Coming up later in the show, WNYC and Gothamist reporter Elizabeth Kim will talk about the city's new $126 billion budget deal. The headlines are that they agreed to expand an expansive rental voucher program, and the mayor back down on his planned expansion of the NYPD. More on that later this hour. Plus, some America 250 history lessons in the back half of today's show. We'll talk to writers behind a new collection of essays that describe New York's role in the American Revolution. And we'll hear how researchers at the New York Historical think they've uncovered new details about a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence, which is now on display.
But first, New York's Penn Station is getting ready for an $8 billion glow up. The cramped, low-slung corridors of one of the nation's busiest transit hubs are being reimagined with raised ceilings, more natural light, and two brand new entrances. That's according to renderings of the winning overhaul plan first obtained by my colleague, Ramsey Calife.
The person tasked with the long-stalled massive construction project is Amtrak's Andy Byford. Many listeners might recognize that name from his time as New York City Transit president. That's where he earned the nickname Train Daddy before leaving the agency after a rift with former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Then about a year ago, Byford was tapped by President Trump to get this Penn Station project back on track to help us understand where things stand on that project now. It's design and funding. I'm joined by Train Daddy himself, Andy Byford, special advisor at Amtrak, leading the project to redevelop Penn Station. Andy, welcome back to WNYC.

**Andy Byford** (2:05)
Richard, it's so nice to be back. This brings back very happy memories of my time in the studio with Brian. So it's great to meet you and work with you today.

**Brigid Bergen** (2:11)
Well, we are so happy to have you here.
I got to say, you worked for Governor Andrew Cuomo, and now your boss is President Donald Trump. You really like working for some soft-spoken guys from Queens, huh?

**Andy Byford** (2:22)
Well, if you add into the mix, I worked for the late great Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto, and my previous job was now Sir Sadiq Khan in London. So if I ever wrote a book, I think I'd anchor it around the personalities for whom I've worked. It's been quite the ride.

**Brigid Bergen** (2:36)
Yeah. You seem to not fear people who are not exactly shrinking violets. You have actually been with Amtrak since 2023
What were you first doing there?

**Andy Byford** (2:48)
So when I was employed by Amtrak, for whom I'm very, very proud to work, I was initially looking at developing Amtrak's high-speed network. So specifically, in addition to writing a strategy for high-speed for the whole of the country, specifically, my mandate was to look at what I still believe is the most compelling corridor in the country, namely Dallas to Houston. Because there's certain variables that you need to address to have successful high-speed, a big city either end, about 200 to 800 miles apart is the sweet spot, too far to drive, too short to fly, and relatively straightforward topography, suboptimal alternatives. It ticked all the boxes, and we were making huge progress.
And what was actually a seminal week, Bridget, because in the same week that we got the bad news that Amtrak was asked to give back the funding that had enabled us to progress, to allow the private sector to take that forward, hopefully they will. In that same week, the Fed said, We'd like Amtrak to take over the Penn Project. I was straight on to my chairman. That's the kind of challenge I like. And it was also my ticket back to New York City.

**Brigid Bergen** (3:52)
We love the fact that you're back here. So what made you want to take on this redevelopment of Penn Station?

**Andy Byford** (4:00)
A number of reasons, I'd say. First of all, I love this place. I'm in love with New York City, the architecture, the people. It's just the best city in the world. Sorry, London, I just love New York. I like living here. It's a buzz.
But secondly, I've always been drawn to challenges. I'm not very good at steady state. I get bored in steady state. So if you think about the various challenges I've had in my career, I'd say this is the biggest of all. And the reason for that is because Penn Station, everyone agrees, is awful. It's suboptimal. It's been languishing. We've never really addressed the demolition in the 60s. It's this suboptimal labyrinth of horrible, dark corridors squeezed under Madison Square Garden. And various attempts have been made. It's been talked about for years. Various attempts have been made to address that and to transform it. And some good work has been done. The MTA has done a lovely job on 33rd Street Concourse. That we're not going to touch. We'll leave that alone. That's beautiful. Moynihan Train Station is great. Born at Moynihan Train Hall. But Penn still languishes. It is just awful.