FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 9, 2000
Contact: Kimberly Riddle
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 220-00

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today joined U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in signing an innovative $140 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan agreement with the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation (PSRC) for the Farley/Penn Station Project in New York.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore are committed to creating a government that works better and costs less," said Secretary Slater. "By providing a new and better way of doing business, we are making possible major transportation investments which might otherwise not

have received financing and moved forward."

Designed to expand and refurbish the James A. Farley Post Office Building and portions of the existing Penn Station Complex, the Farley/Penn Station Project creates a safe and efficient passenger complex for Amtrak, commuter rail, subway, airport access, and bus and taxi passengers. The project also provides a new Manhattan terminal to accommodate new high-speed rail service between Boston and Washington.

During a signing ceremony commemorating the historic agreement, Senator Moynihan said, "I am most gratified by the efforts of Secretary Slater and Deputy Secretary Downey to help enact TIFIA into law and ensure its success. They understand that the days of simply pouring concrete are over, and that federal dollars must be used to leverage private capital. Today is a great day for the future of federal transportation policy and for New York, which will use this innovative tool to help finance the first truly magnificent transportation project of the 21^st Century -- a new Penn Station."

Selected as part of the inaugural year of the TIFIA credit program, the $800 million Farley/Penn Station Project increases station capacity by 30 percent, doubles passenger circulation space and transforms the Farley Post Office Building and Penn Station Complex into a majestic intermodal transportation facility and commercial center that will meet regional transportation needs in the Northeast well into the 21^st Century.

TIFIA provides federal credit assistance to major transportation investments of critical national importance including intermodal facilities, border crossing infrastructure, highway trade corridors, and transit and passenger rail facilities with regional and national benefits. The TIFIA credit program fills market gaps and leverages substantial private co-investments by providing supplemental and subordinate capital providing almost $2.3 billion in credit assistance to date.

The TIFIA loan for the Farley/Penn Station Project represents an ambitious public-private partnership and continues the Clinton-Gore administration’s leadership in financial innovation. At a budgetary cost of only $20 million, the $140 million loan supports capital investments of about $800 million. TIFIA loans encourage new revenue streams and private participation and limit federal exposure by relying on market discipline.

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Briefing Room