Amtrak and its partners are studying ways to increase train capacity at New York Penn Station to accommodate increasing passenger demand throughout the Northeast. 

Amtrak, MTA, and NJ TRANSIT (the Railroad Partners) have conducted an engineering study that assesses the feasibility of two alternatives that aim to at least double trans-Hudson train service during peak periods without expanding the footprint of the existing New York Penn Station. 

• Alternative 1 – “Under Penn”: Aim to at least double trans-Hudson rail capacity by adding a new track and platform level below the existing track level of Penn Station. 
• Alternative 2 – “Through-Running”: Aim to at least double trans-Hudson rail capacity by converting Penn Station to all through-running service using infrastructure within the existing footprint of the station. 

The Railroad Partners developed design concepts for these two alternatives and evaluated them against a number of criteria, including but not limited to: geotechnical constructability, operational performance (i.e., at least a doubling of trans-Hudson rail capacity), and compatibility with a future vision for cross-regional rail. 

The Feasibility Study concludes that none of the studied alternatives satisfy the established criteria and future analysis will be needed to evaluate alternatives capable of doubling train capacity that are not constrained by the current physical boundaries of Penn Station.