The $300 million Penn Station West End Concourse, $1.6 billion Moynihan Train Hall and now $600 million new 33rd Street entrance, plus widening of the connecting 7th to 8th Avenue concourse may improve pedestrian circulation access, but fail in other critical areas which would provide real versus cosmetic improvements for LIRR riders. All three of these investments costing over $2.5 billion add no additional platform and track capacity for LIRR, New Jersey Transit or Amtrak riders. All fail to deal with bringing the more than 110-year-old East River Tunnels (two of which suffered significant damage from 2012 Superstorm Sandy) up to a state of good repair. They do nothing to end the periodic cancellation and combination of LIRR trains due to signal, power, derailments and other East River tunnel problems.
Missing is a low-cost option that could be of real benefit for riders. Until the early 1980s, both LIRR and New Jersey Transit riders exiting east at Penn Station had a direct underground passageway known as the Hilton Corridor. It was also known as the Gimbel’s passageway. Gimbel’s was Macy’s chief competitor at Herald Square. This provided a direct indoor connection to the 34th Street Herald Square IND and BMT subway, along with PATH station.
It was closed many decades ago by NYC Transit and the LIRR, due to security issues. If reopened today, commuters would have easy connections to the Broadway N, R, Q & W and 6th Avenue B, D, F & M subway lines, along with PATH, rather than walking outside on the street exposed to both inclement weather and heavy traffic. By using either the subway or walking, riders would have direct east side midtown access via these subway lines to Manhattan midtown and the east side, along with the Broadway, 6th Avenue, 42nd, 53rd, 59th or 63rd Street corridors, served by numerous subway lines and stations.
It could be rebuilt in several years for $150 million versus $11.2 billion for MTA LIRR Eastside Access to Grand Central Terminal.
—Larry Penner
Larry Penner is a transportation historian, writer and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions in capital projects and programs for the MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Rail Road and MTA Bus along with 30 other transit agencies in NY & NJ.
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