New York Metropolis Transit President Andy Byford. (Photograph by Mark Hallum)
Welcome residence, “Train Daddy!”
Andy Byford, the previous MTA New York Metropolis Transit boss, has been appointed as particular advisor to the Amtrak Board of Administrators for the Trump administration’s redevelopment of Penn Station, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy introduced Tuesday.
Recognized to some New Yorkers because the “Train Daddy” for bettering MTA service throughout his time period as NYC Transit President, Byford will report on to Amtrak administrators and can work with the USDOT as he “oversees the Penn Station project through a master developer public-private partnership,” the company introduced Tuesday. Byford led NYC Transit for 2 years earlier than resigning in 2020 amid reported disagreements with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The Trump administration took over the Penn Station redesign from the MTA in April, scrapping multi-billion-dollar plans for lengthy anticipated renovations. Amtrak, which owns Penn Station, now leads the mission. Duffy has mentioned that the transfer will save taxpayers $120 million.
“We’re thrilled to have Andy oversee the redevelopment and modernization of this vital transit hub,” mentioned Duffy, a former actuality tv star. “Andy shares our dedication to keeping costs down and completing this project on time. Together we’ll work to deliver a brand-new Penn Station that is safe, clean, and worthy of the American people.”
In a Friday assertion, Hochul introduced she had spoken with Trump on Might 18 a couple of “path forward for Penn Station,” throughout which Trump invited Hochul to “bring plans to the White House for review.”
“I’m very pleased to be working with the newly-appointed Andy Byford, who has a distinguished career in transit and infrastructure, and hope he is able to use these skills to deliver a beautiful, on-time, federally funded Penn Station renovation that New Yorkers can be proud of,” Hochul mentioned within the assertion. “I am grateful to see the federal government taking full control over Penn Station renovations — allowing us to redeploy $1.2 billion in State funds that had previously been allocated toward this project.”
In his time heading up NYC Transit, Byford was a proponent of congestion pricing—a tolling program for Manhattan drivers that the USDOT is trying to halt—and was credited for bettering MTA trains and buses after a delay-ridden summer season in 2017 colloquially identified amongst riders because the “summer of hell.”
