logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2022
18m 36s

Will a multibillion dollar project get A...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

New York’s Penn Station is the busiest transport hub in the United States - as many as 650,000 people pass through it in a day. But this intercity hub is widely agreed to be outdated and unloved.

Now there are plans to pour billions of dollars into a station facelift - in the hope it will attract Americans back to trains.

In this episode, Laura Heighton-Ginns hears from key stakeholders Amtrak and the Regional Plan Association on why they believe a major overhaul is needed.

Laura also takes a tour of the station and finds out about its much-admired predecessor - the Pennsylvania Station of the early 20th Century.

And she explores the site of the planned demolition work, which controversially includes historical buildings and a busy community church.

Presented and produced by Laura Heighton-Ginns.

(Image: Penn Station scaffolding. Credit: BBC)

Up next
Jul 10
Business Daily meets: Max Levchin
The fintech entrepreneur tells us about co-founding PayPal, and how an embarrassing personal moment when trying to buy a car, led him to start the buy now, pay later company Affirm.Produced and presented by Leanna Byrne(Image: PayPal Co-Founder & Affirm CEO Max Levchin in 2019. C ... Show More
17m 34s
Jul 9
The impact of 'thirsty' data centres
We're in the US state of Georgia, where huge data centres need water to keep cool. But how is this need for cloud storage and AI capability affecting local residents and the environment?Presenter: Michelle Fleury Producer: Nathalie Jimenez(Image: Georgia resident Beverly Morris l ... Show More
17m 50s
Jul 8
Does university still get you a well-paid job?
Graduates are facing one of the toughest jobs markets in decades. We hear from students in India, the US and UK about whether they feel a university or college degree is worth it as we discuss the cost of attending university around the world and what your job prospects might be ... Show More
17m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
The Age of the Train?
For most people, the aeroplane is the default mode of long distance transport Whilst the UK has only two overnight sleeper services, long distance train travel and sleeper services are experiencing a resurgence in Europe. One company OBB, the Austrian State Railway has just order ... Show More
28m 38s
Jul 2023
Two Indicators: After Affirmative Action & why America overpays for subways
Two stories today. First, as we start to understand post-affirmative action America, we look to a natural experiment 25 years ago, when California ended the practice in public universities. It reshaped the makeup of the universities almost instantly. We find out what happened in ... Show More
19m 46s
Jul 2019
These Three People Say They Can Fix the Subway
Corey Johnson wants to be the next mayor of New York, and the press seems to think he will be. His plan to fix transit is the centerpiece of his platform. Tom Wright is the CEO of the powerful Regional Plan Association. That organization imagines the future and comes up with idea ... Show More
44m 1s
Mar 2023
How a Derailed Train Galvanized an Ohio Town, and Congress
On Feb. 3, a nearly two-mile long freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, a town of about 4,700 people.The railroad company and local officials decided to do a chemical burn to neutralize the cargo, but as a giant plume of black smoke settle ... Show More
27m 11s
Jul 2020
Philip M. Plotch, "Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City" (Cornell UP, 2020)
Ever since New York City built one of the world’s great subway systems, no promise has been more tantalizing than the proposal to build a new subway line under Second Avenue in Manhattan. Yet the Second Avenue subway--although first envisioned in the 1920s, did not open until 201 ... Show More
40m 15s
Mar 2024
Trains de nuit : pourquoi leur relance est-elle si lente en France ?
Réouverture de la ligne Paris-Nice en 2021, puis des trajets Paris-Aurillac et Paris-Berlin en 2023… Le récent retour sur les rails des trains couchettes fait l’objet d’un accueil enthousiaste de la part des voyageurs nostalgiques de ce mode de transports, qui a accompagné des gé ... Show More
18m 43s
Nov 2023
513. Should Public Transit Be Free? (Update)
It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s complicated. Also: We talk to the man who gets half the nation’s mass-transit riders where they want to go (most of the time).  SOURCES: ... Show More
56m 10s
Jan 2024
E135 2024, le grand retour du train ?
Les trains font leur grand retour parmi les modes de transport préférés des voyageurs. En France, l'été 2022 puis l'été 2023 ont marqué à chaque fois un record de fréquentation du rail. Plus cher que l'avion mais aussi plus écolo, le train est vu comme une option d'avenir, et en ... Show More
36m 29s
Jun 2023
What Are the Railways For?
As the government prepares a major reorganisation of Britain's railways, Daniel Brittain asks what are they for. It's a question which has been ignored in previous reorganisations - which typically take place after a crisis or a disaster. So Daniel travels to Greater Manchester, ... Show More
28m 54s