Latest news with #AndyByford
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Former NYC Transit Head 'Train Daddy' to Lead Amtrak's Penn Station Overhaul
Former New York City Transit President Andy Byford, nicknamed 'Train Daddy,' has been appointed to lead the $7 billion revamp of New York's Pennsylvania Station. US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that Byford will be the special advisor to Amtrak 's board of directors for the redevelopment of Penn Station.
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYC ‘Train Daddy' Andy Byford joins Amtrak board to oversee Penn Station revamp
WASHINGTON — 'Train Daddy' is officially back. Former Transit President Andy Byford has formally joined Amtrak's Board of Directors to oversee the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday Byford resigned from his Big Apple role in February 2020 after butting heads with then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — now the favorite to become the city's next mayor — and is currently serving as a senior vice president at Amtrak focusing on high-speed rail. 'Thanks to President Trump's leadership, America is building again,' Duffy said in a statement. 'We're thrilled to have Andy oversee the redevelopment and modernization of this vital transit hub.' 3 New York City's 'Train Daddy' Andy Byford has officially joined Amtrak's Board of Directors to oversee the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images 'Andy shares our dedication to keeping costs down and completing this project on time,' Duffy added. 'Together we'll work to deliver a brand-new Penn Station that is safe, clean, and worthy of the American people.' The $7 billion overhaul will involve a 'public-private partnership model' to renovate the crumbling infrastructure and add more rail capacity,' Duffy said last month. Trump had fired the MTA from overseeing the Penn Station revamp, begun in 2021 under Cuomo and continued by his successor as governor, Kathy Hochul. 3 Byford will now serve as a special adviser on Amtrak's board after having previously led public transit systems in Toronto, London and Sydney as well. Getty Images Cuomo had tapped Byford for the Transit role following massive subway delays during 2017's 'Summer of Hell.' Under the Englishman, NYC subways reached their highest on-time performance levels in six years. However, Byford complained that working under Cuomo was 'intolerable' and that he'd been 'excluded from meetings' critical to day-to-day operations. 3 Deputy Secretary Steven Bradbury in a statement Tuesday added that the Transportation Department looks forward to helping 'revitalize Penn Station as a spectacular, safe, and reliable passenger rail gateway.' James Keivom After leaving his New York job shortly before the onset of COVID-19, Byford was appointed commissioner of Transport for London in June 2020, resigning two years and three months later after overseeing the opening of the commuter-rapid transit hybrid Elizabeth Line, citing a desire to return to the US to be with his family. Hochul, who pulled more than $1 billion in state funding for the Penn Station project, welcomed news of Byford's return to New York City in a Friday statement expressing relief that the money pit was the feds' problem now. '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. Deputy Transportation Secretary Steven Bradbury added Tuesday that the Transportation Department looks forward to helping 'revitalize Penn Station as a spectacular, safe, and reliable passenger rail gateway.'
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
NYC's ‘Train Daddy' Andy Byford is coming back to take over long-troubled Penn Station overhaul
New York's 'Train Daddy' is coming home. Former NYC Transit President Andy Byford — who infamously resigned after clashing with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — has been brought on by the White House to take over the long-delayed revamp of Penn Station. Byford, now an executive at Amtrak, will oversee one of the most prominent transit projects in the country, White House officials confirmed Friday. Advertisement Andy Byford is back to takeover the ailing project. AFP via Getty Images The move, first reported by Gothamist, puts the British transit official on a collision course with MTA Chair Janno Lieber, who had the project torn away from his agency by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The Trump administration instead gave the massive job to Amtrak, where Byford has worked since 2023. Advertisement Trump announced his administration would be taking over the project — to the chagrin of Kathy Hochul. Getty Images The beloved transportation exec, who has also led the Sydney, Toronto and London systems, was run out of New York in 2020 by Cuomo. Byford said at the time that Cuomo — who is now running for New York City mayor — undermined him to the point that his job became 'intolerable.'
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Byford, Once New York's ‘Train Daddy,' to Lead Penn Station Overhaul
Andy Byford, who earned the nickname 'Train Daddy' while running the New York City subway, has been chosen by the Trump administration to lead its effort to rebuild Pennsylvania Station, according to three people familiar with the decision. Mr. Byford's appointment must still be confirmed next week by the board of Amtrak, the federal entity that owns the station. Still, he is poised to take the helm of one of the most high-profile, complex and expensive construction projects in the United States. Mr. Byford took control of New York City's bus and subway network in 2018 after what became known as the system's 'summer of hell' the previous year, when track fires and long delays frustrated commuters. He became popular among riders for improving service soon after being installed in the job. He also led the effort in 2019 to win state lawmakers' support for congestion pricing, a first-in-the-nation tolling program meant to reduce Manhattan gridlock and raise money needed for mass transit repairs. The program has been criticized by President Trump and Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, both of whom have threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal transportation aid unless New York State stops drivers going into the Manhattan congestion zone.
