A major hurdle in the development of Moynihan Station was cleared over the weekend, when Amtrak announced its intention to relocate its operations to a new train hall in the Farley Building. Specifically, Gov. David Paterson, Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak President Joe Boardman announced a general agreement on the basic terms and conditions for the redevelopment of the Farley Building into a new train station. The terms of the agreement will be finalized in the coming weeks and memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding.

This is all around good news. By moving to the historic Farley Post Office, Amtrak will gain a world-class flagship building for its busiest and most important station. All three transit agencies (NJ TRANSIT, MTA-LIRR and Amtrak) will benefit from a more efficient and spacious Moynihan Station complex, east and west of Eighth Avenue, with Amtrak relocated to Farley. Finally, the fact that Amtrak and the State of New York are working in partnership helps to clear the way for federal stimulus funding, which is necessary to see the project through.

The latest cost estimates are between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion. Though the Port Authority, New York State, New York City and others have committed significant funding to the project, there remains a several hundred million dollar shortfall.

Amtrak Deal May Revive Moynihan Station, New York Times 9.13.09
Manhattan's Moynihan Amtrak Gets Go-Ahead, Newsday 9.13.09
Manhattan's all aboard Moynihan Station move, New York Post 9.14.09
Moynihan Station back on track, Daily News 9.13.09
Moynihan Station Pact Reached, Bloomberg News 9.13.09

The image above is Skidmore Owings and Merrill's 2006 rendering of the new train hall in Farley.