Can New York Penn Station carry more trains by running them through the station instead of turning them around? These pages follow the federal study testing that question, make the case for through-running, check the case for expansion against the record, and publish the documents behind both.
Start here if you are following the news.
The FRA’s Phase I study found room for 30 to 32 peak-direction trans-Hudson trains an hour inside the existing station, up from 24. It did not find a ceiling. This page lays out what Phase II, due in 2028, needs to test.
A 3D tour of the tracks, drawn at true scale inside Midtown’s own buildings, shows the four fixes Phase I tested and what it left for Phase II.
Tracks whether the FRA’s commitments on capacity testing, regional rail integration, and future expansion options show up in design decisions and published evidence.
NJ Transit’s study of near-term capacity options ahead of the larger Gateway projects.
The argument, a proposal for the first line, and what it would change beyond Manhattan.
The full case: what turning trains costs, what the tracks allow, the strongest objection, and who would ride.
A proposal for connected regional rail, affordable fares and housing, with an action brief for public meetings and a fuller illustrated campaign brief.
Pick your station and compare a trip on the published schedule with the same train running straight through Penn Station.
A proposal for a first through-running corridor and the service standard Phase II should test.
What direct regional service through Penn Station could change around Newark’s stations and the parcels near them.
How other regions run trains through their central stations, compared with Penn Station.
FRA’s Phase I capacity plan set against Census home-work records for the region beyond Midtown.
LIRR ridership and recovery by station, NJ Transit boardings, recovery by operator, and where New York City’s outside workers live.
Each public argument for a larger station, checked against the data and documents.
The 39 parcels in Penn South’s acquisition footprint, the housing and buildings at stake, and the operating evidence required before taking the blocks.
Compares the FRA’s Phase I operating model with the Regional Plan Association’s April 2026 case for expansion.
Tests sixteen public arguments against through-running, from two interviews, against the available data and documents.
What public-records responses show about the modeling data behind the 2024 capacity expansion feasibility study, and the case for the through-running alternative it set aside. Includes the January 2025 essay “Beyond the Terminal Trap.”
Primary sources for reporters and researchers.
Public records on Penn Station, Gateway, and related rail planning: reports, drawings, contracts, and correspondence.
Liam Blank’s public statement on the study of doubling trans-Hudson train capacity, kept as issued.
A plan from the year demolition began, and what became of it.
For eight NFL seasons, trains carried passengers from Connecticut through Penn Station to the Meadowlands: how the service was built, and why it ended.
A century of OCR’d newspaper coverage of the region’s attempts to plan and run transportation across state lines.
Key moments in the region’s attempts at shared transportation and planning governance.
I take on records research, operating analysis, and visualization for campaigns, reporters, funders, and legal teams. Reporters can use the same form for interview requests.