Penn Station Access—New York, New York

The Penn Station Access project is a key initiative within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) broader efforts to protect, upgrade, and expand critical transportation infrastructure in New York City. This vital project introduces a new Metro-North Railroad link directly into Penn Station, providing crucial system resiliency for over 275,000 daily customers. It also adds four new transit stations to underserved communities in the Bronx and establishes new transit connections to surrounding neighborhoods. The project includes the installation of four new passenger stations, four AC substations, four rail bridges, and five track interlockings.

Engineering Success: Parsons’ Role in Overhead Line Design

We are proud to support this transformative project through its specialized design expertise. We provided the design for the temporary staging and construction of all overhead lines, including catenary, 12kV traction power, signal power, and communication cables in the LT01 and TEMP1 packages. This comprehensive work involved preparing temporary wiring plans, staging plans, profiles, erection diagrams, assembly details, loading calculations, and electrical clearance assessments, while coordinating closely with the construction team.

Seamless Transition: Minimizing Disruption During Construction Upgrades

Our role was focused on capturing interim conditions during the construction phase, bridging the gap between existing (initial) and permanent (final) conditions. A significant challenge in this project is implementing these upgrades while minimizing disruptions to existing operations and services. Parsons’ team leveraged its deep expertise to develop and execute strategies that efficiently performed the necessary work within the allocated timeframes, ensuring minimal service interruption and seamless transition to permanent conditions.