Former NYC Transit head Andy Byford has been chosen by President Trump to head up the effort to rebuild Penn Station, according to the White House.
Trump’s selection of Byford — a respected authority on railroad and transit operations who has run systems in Toronto, New York, London and Sydney — comes one month after the federal government pulled the stalled project away from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The news was first reported Friday by the West Side Spirit.
Gov. Hochul, who said she’d been in conversation with Trump over last weekend about next steps on Penn, greeted the news in a statement Friday.
“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,” she said.
Byford’s leadership could signal an unexpected commitment to the project on the part of the mercurial Trump administration, and signal a departure from prior elements of Amtrak’s plan — such as possibly abandoning the demolition of a city block south of the station in order to build more tracks for NJ Transit.
Byford — whose short two-year stint at the head of NYC Transit endeared him to transit workers and riders alike, earning him the nickname “Train Daddy” — has been working at Amtrak on high-speed rail since 2023.
That same year, as previously reported by The News, Byford opined — albeit in a personal capacity — on several of the more controversial elements of the Penn Station plan at a public talk about the station.
“[I]t would break my heart to see beautiful buildings torn down on Eighth and Seventh Aves. when they don’t need to be,” he said at the time.
Byford also indicated his support for so-called “through-running,” an arrangement that would see trains continue on to other destinations beyond Penn Station before turning around or reversing — an arrangement that would reduce the time trains sit stationary at Penn and could allow for more frequent service.
byford farewell
Barry Williams/for New York Daily News Former New York City Transit President Andy Byford smiles on the 4/5/6 line while riding the subway to Union Square on his final day as head of NYC Transit on Feb. 21, 2020, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
Despite the fact that many NJ Transit trains do, in fact, travel on to a yard in Queens after making their last stop at Penn, Amtrak has historically argued that through-running is not possible, citing incompatibilities among the equipment used by the three railroads — Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit — that use the station.
It was unclear on Friday whether Byford would have the authority to change Amtrak’s existing plans, like the proposed demolition of Block 780 — the city block between W. 31st and W. 30th Sts., bounded by Seventh and Eighth Aves. — in order to create more platform space for NJ Transit commuter trains.
Nevertheless, MTA brass — who, until last month, had been charged with redesigning the aboveground portion of Penn — welcomed the Train Daddy’s selection.
“This is good news,” John McCarthy, the agency’s head of policy and external relations, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Andy Byford, who understands the importance of mass transit and was a strong supporter throughout our battle to implement congestion pricing in New York.”
The news of Byford’s involvement was also welcomed by close watchers of Penn’s redevelopment.
Layla Law-Gisiko — who heads the City Club of New York, a preservation group that opposes the plan to demolish the blocks around Penn — described Byford as an “obvious” choice.
“I am overjoyed,” she told The News. “He knows rail. He knows infrastructure. He knows community engagement in New York. He has the highest level of integrity. This guy has no ego.”
Samuel Turvey of the advocacy group ReThinkNYC, who also opposes the state plan, described Byford’s selection as “a really great choice for everyone in the New York region.”
“Andy Byford has had great success on three continents, including his time in New York, and will bring integrity, competence and advanced leadership skills to the multi-decade conundrum at Penn Station,” he said. “He will not, however, be able to do this on his own. He will need all of us to help him succeed.”
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