Trump administration floats Penn Station rename in USD 8 billion revamp

The Trump administration has urged leading US senators to consider renaming New York's Penn Station as part of a projected USD 8 billion overhaul of the Manhattan rail hub, one of the busiest in the western hemisphere. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy raised the issue in a letter on Wednesday seeking congressional approval for funding for the station revamp and other major transport priorities, though he did not say what the station should be renamed.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders and commuter groups, while also reviving President Donald Trump's own public remarks on the subject. The administration last year directed Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, to take charge of the long-delayed redesign of the station.

Spokespersons for the transport agency shared Duffy's letter but did not respond to follow-up questions on Thursday. Duffy, however, has previously made clear that he would welcome the station carrying Trump's name. Last summer, as officials sought bids for the project's master developer, the former Wisconsin congressman said, "I imagine you're asking, 'Is this going to be Trump Station?' I think that has a nice ring to it." Asked earlier this year about the idea, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said simply: "Why not?" In his second term in the White House, Trump has sought to shape his legacy through public works projects, from a new White House ballroom to a triumphal arch and an unsuccessful effort to rename the Kennedy Center. Earlier this month, Florida's Palm Beach airport was renamed President Donald J Trump International Airport.

Trump has said the name-change idea did not come from him. He has acknowledged that the issue came up in talks with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, but rejected the suggestion that he proposed it in return for restoring federal funding for the Gateway project, a major rail tunnel running under the Hudson River from Penn Station into New Jersey. "Chuck Schumer suggested that to me, about changing the name of Penn Station to Trump Station," Trump said earlier this year aboard Air Force One. At the same time, he argued that it made little sense for such a major New York landmark to be named after another state. "I LOVE Pennsylvania, but it is a direct competitor to New York, and eating New York's lunch!" he wrote on Truth Social, while adding that the renaming idea was "brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads, not me."

Pennsylvania Station in New York, like a few others in the country, was named after the now-defunct Pennsylvania Railroad, which built the original station. Opened in 1910, the first station was seen as a Beaux Arts landmark, with Roman-style columns and a vast waiting hall. It was demolished in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden, leaving commuters to use cramped corridors and dim underground platforms beneath the arena. Recently released renderings call for a return to the station's earlier classical style, with a stone faade, rows of columns and a grand concourse with high ceilings. One interior wall in the design also carries Trump's seal and name.

Critics said Duffy's letter raised fresh concerns about the direction of the project. Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler said it showed the administration was "waging a hostile takeover of Penn Station" and trying to "strip control" from local authorities. "I strongly oppose this ridiculous proposal and am once again demanding answers on the funding," he wrote on X. "New York taxpayers and transit riders must not be forced to foot the bill for a Trump vanity project." The Riders Alliance, a local transit advocacy group, called the renaming idea "another huge red flag" that the Penn Station plan could become "another multibillion dollar vanity boondoggle". Spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said, "We should be talking about improving service, saving time and money, not monuments, ribbon cuttings or nameplates."

The Penn Station overhaul has for years been caught in political infighting among the local transit agencies that use it, while James Dolan, the billionaire owner of the NBA's New York Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers, has strongly opposed plans to move Madison Square Garden. The current proposal would keep the arena in place but demolish a theatre on the site. Amtrak referred questions to the federal transport department, while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit did not immediately comment. The debate over the station's future now includes not only its redesign and funding, but also whether one of New York's best-known landmarks should get a new name.

With PTI Inputs

The Trump administration has urged leading US senators to consider renaming New York's Penn Station as part of a projected USD 8 billion overhaul of the Manhattan rail hub, one of the busiest in the western hemisphere. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy raised the issue in a letter on Wednesday seeking congressional approval for funding for the station revamp and other major transport priorities, though he did not say what the station should be renamed.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders and commuter groups, while also reviving President Donald Trump's own public remarks on the subject. The administration last year directed Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, to take charge of the long-delayed redesign of the station.

Spokespersons for the transport agency shared Duffy's letter but did not respond to follow-up questions on Thursday. Duffy, however, has previously made clear that he would welcome the station carrying Trump's name. Last summer, as officials sought bids for the project's master developer, the former Wisconsin congressman said, "I imagine you're asking, 'Is this going to be Trump Station?' I think that has a nice ring to it." Asked earlier this year about the idea, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said simply: "Why not?" In his second term in the White House, Trump has sought to shape his legacy through public works projects, from a new White House ballroom to a triumphal arch and an unsuccessful effort to rename the Kennedy Center. Earlier this month, Florida's Palm Beach airport was renamed President Donald J Trump International Airport.

Trump has said the name-change idea did not come from him. He has acknowledged that the issue came up in talks with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, but rejected the suggestion that he proposed it in return for restoring federal funding for the Gateway project, a major rail tunnel running under the Hudson River from Penn Station into New Jersey. "Chuck Schumer suggested that to me, about changing the name of Penn Station to Trump Station," Trump said earlier this year aboard Air Force One. At the same time, he argued that it made little sense for such a major New York landmark to be named after another state. "I LOVE Pennsylvania, but it is a direct competitor to New York, and eating New York's lunch!" he wrote on Truth Social, while adding that the renaming idea was "brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads, not me."

Pennsylvania Station in New York, like a few others in the country, was named after the now-defunct Pennsylvania Railroad, which built the original station. Opened in 1910, the first station was seen as a Beaux Arts landmark, with Roman-style columns and a vast waiting hall. It was demolished in 1963 to make way for Madison Square Garden, leaving commuters to use cramped corridors and dim underground platforms beneath the arena. Recently released renderings call for a return to the station's earlier classical style, with a stone faade, rows of columns and a grand concourse with high ceilings. One interior wall in the design also carries Trump's seal and name.

Critics said Duffy's letter raised fresh concerns about the direction of the project. Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler said it showed the administration was "waging a hostile takeover of Penn Station" and trying to "strip control" from local authorities. "I strongly oppose this ridiculous proposal and am once again demanding answers on the funding," he wrote on X. "New York taxpayers and transit riders must not be forced to foot the bill for a Trump vanity project." The Riders Alliance, a local transit advocacy group, called the renaming idea "another huge red flag" that the Penn Station plan could become "another multibillion dollar vanity boondoggle". Spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said, "We should be talking about improving service, saving time and money, not monuments, ribbon cuttings or nameplates."

The Penn Station overhaul has for years been caught in political infighting among the local transit agencies that use it, while James Dolan, the billionaire owner of the NBA's New York Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers, has strongly opposed plans to move Madison Square Garden. The current proposal would keep the arena in place but demolish a theatre on the site. Amtrak referred questions to the federal transport department, while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit did not immediately comment. The debate over the station's future now includes not only its redesign and funding, but also whether one of New York's best-known landmarks should get a new name.

With PTI Inputs