Amtrak said on Wednesday that it had chosen a developer to remake dreary Pennsylvania Station in New York City, one day after Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said that the federal government intended to spend $8 billion on the project.
Mr. Duffy and Amtrak’s board of directors announced that they had chosen Penn Transformation Partners from among three qualified bidders as master developer of the project that they said will transform the subterranean transit hub into a “brand new, world-class station.”
Mr. Duffy has said that work on the project is scheduled to begin before the end of next year, even though Amtrak, which owns the station, has not presented a detailed plan to the public or explained how it would be funded.
“Under President Trump’s historic leadership, the days of Penn Station’s cramped hallways, broken infrastructure and snarled rail lines are numbered,” Mr. Duffy said in a statement. “2027 can’t come soon enough.”
Amtrak said that the project would involve building a “grand entrance” on Eighth Avenue leading to a new train hall, replacing “cramped, decrepit walkways with open beautiful concourses,” and expanding track capacity and other improvements.
Making improvements to Penn Station, the nation’s busiest transportation hub, has been complicated by the presence of Madison Square Garden atop the station. The Garden was built on the site after the original Penn Station, beloved for its classical architecture, was demolished.
Some architects and urban planners have called over the years for the Garden to be moved so that a more inviting station could be built. But Amtrak made clear that the arena would be staying put.
“The new design takes inspiration from this lost architectural gem while fitting with the major structures there currently, particularly Madison Square Garden and Moynihan Train Hall,” the statement said.
Penn Transformation Partners is led by Halmar International, a construction firm.
In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Duffy told Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, “We’re going to give $8 billion to rebuild Penn Station.” That was the first public declaration of a financial commitment of that size from the federal government toward the project.
“You welcome that, right?” Mr. Duffy said to her.
No mention was made of that $8 billion commitment in the announcement on Wednesday from the Transportation Department and Amtrak. An Amtrak spokesman said the final cost and schedule for the project were still to be determined.
Stefanos Chen contributed reporting.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.