3 Firms May Bid On New Hell Gate Commuter Line

NEW YORK — A list of firms who can handle the project to build a new commuter line linking Connecticut and Westchester County with western Manhattan was released Wednesday morning by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Metro-North Penn Access Project will bring New Haven Line service into Penn Station by 2024.

The Hell Gate Line will connect from the New Haven Line and run on an underused Amtrak track between New Rochelle and Penn Station through the east Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.

“For almost two years, my colleagues in government and I have been fighting for the Penn Station Access Project," said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. "With this announcement, it is more clear than ever before that this fight was a successful one for the people of Westchester County and this region. The MTA's progress here is a sign that we are tackling large scale challenges with large scale solutions instead of just paying them lip-service.”

The project represents that largest expansion of Metro-North Railroad since it was created 37 years ago. Founded in 1983 when the MTA assumed control of Conrail commuter operations in New York and Connecticut, Metro-North has 384 route miles and 775 miles of track going to 124 stations in seven counties in New York State — Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Bronx, New York, Rockland, and Orange — and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut.

“This project is transformative for people who want to get from the East Bronx and Westchester to the West Side of Midtown Manhattan – likewise for those who want to access the East Bronx and job centers in Westchester and Connecticut,” said MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber.

The new service would bring Metro-North trains from New Rochelle, across Pelham Bay, to Co-op City through the east Bronx and over the historic Hell Gate Bridge into Queens, where they would merge with the Long Island Railroad's route, proceeding through the East River tunnels into Manhattan and west to Penn Station.

The MTA anticipates up to 50,000 customer trips will be made per day on the new route, including up to 20,000 that start or end at four new stations in the Bronx. Penn Station Access is expected to draw new riders and generate major time savings for Metro-North customers.

Once the line is built, customers who travel between the east Bronx and Penn Station could save up to 45 minutes of travel time over current alternatives. Customers who travel between the east Bronx and New Haven Line stations can save up to 80 minutes of travel time over current alternatives. Metro-North customers who travel between existing New Haven Line stations and Penn Station (who now connect to subways to complete the trip) are projected to save 16 minutes each way.

It could also become a transit link between Westchester, Long Island, Boston and Washington, D.C.

The MTA is using the innovative “design-build” process in which a single firm or consortium is responsible for both the design and construction of a project. Design-build has been used successfully in recent projects such as the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and the LIRR Expansion Project, MTA officials said.

An informational open house was held in October for potential applicants. The bidders were evaluated and selected by a team of expert reviewers consisting of personnel from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LIRR, Metro-North and Amtrak

They are:

• Halmar International, LLC/Railworks, JV (Ove Arup & Partners P.C., Lead Designer)
• Skanska ECCO III Penn Station Connectors, JV (AECOM USA, Inc., Lead Designer)
• Tutor Perini/O&G, JV (Parsons Transportation Group of New York, Inc., Lead Designer)

Request-for-proposals from those three will highlight the project’s emphasis on meeting project milestone dates and minimizing local community impacts of construction, among other priorities, MTA officials said.

No contract will be awarded until after the environmental review process is concluded, a formal “Finding of No Significant Impact” is issued by the Federal Transit Administration, and the contract is approved by the MTA Board.

Metro-North Penn Station Access is fully funded under the MTA’s 2015-19 and 2020-24 Capital Programs.

Editor's Note: The Hell Gate Line will connect to the New Haven line and Amtrak at New Rochelle. The Metro-North line was incorrectly identified in the original version of this report. Patch regrets the error.