Recently I spent some time wandering by the West Side Rail Yard. I love it down there. The open space of of the trainyard on the Hudson River is a fabulous view.

History

The 26 acres of the West Side Yard began in 1846, built by the Hudson River Railroad. At the time, it was the only railroad to bring freight into Manhattan. It took about 2.5 hours for the train to run the 55 miles to Poughkeepsie, NY. There are 30 tracks, including a six-track indoor maintenance shop, lockers and break room for employees.

New York Central and Penn Central used the rails as a freight terminal until the 70’s, when the State of NY acquired the yard. It now serves as storage for the Long Island Railroad train operations at Penn Station.

For a good, detailed read on the history of the West Side Yards check out Penney Vanderbilt and KC Jones: All About Railroads

Hudson Yards

The eastern half of the rail yard – east of 11th Avenue) was rezoned for residential use, and in 2012 ground was broken for the first massive tower of Hudson Yards. The speed of development at Hudson Yards is amazing and never stops. It’s a startling contrast to look out over the rail yard, then turn and see the enormity of Hudson Yards.

In order to build Hudson Yards, platforms were constructed over the tracks. 300 Caissons (large-diameter pipes drilled into rock and filled with concrete) support the platforms and buildings. The caissons, which are 4-5′ in diameter and 20 to 80 feet in depth, were drilled deep into the bedrock between existing tracks.

The Future – the Gateway Tunnel

Underway is the groundwork for the $12.5 billion Gateway Tunnel. The new tunnel will run two passenger rail tubes under the Hudson River between New York and Newark, NJ.

Below is a photo I took of the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing project in March 2025. The concrete casing will hold the tunnel, which is planned for completion by 2035. It won’t be a minute too soon – since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 the existing tunnel is corroding faster than Amtrak can fix it.

The work on this part of the casing runs diagonally from 11th Avenue to 30th Street. Amtrak’s web page has a fantastic time lapse showing the progress of this section. You can watch it here.

The bottom of the Hudson River is being stabilized for construction of a 1,200-foot-long concrete box which will allow two massive machines to carve out the New Jersey portion of the tunnel.

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Hudson Yards West

The building of a platform continues over the west side of the railyard, with plans for residential, hotel, retail, a school, and open space. I’ll be sorry to lose this wonderful view of the trains.

In 2024 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill posted photos on Facebook of what they envision the completed project would look like.

A released letter on the NY Senate website reads that developer Related Companies is seeking approval for a “gaming facility”. Below is a photo from the Hudson Yards West website of what the casino would look like if the proposal is approved.

Soon all these tracks will be invisible to us, buried beneath the platform. They’ll be covered with homes, businesses, and people. I don’t think I’m a NIMBY, but I’m a little sad that the romanticism of the trainyard will be gone. It’s a contemplative view. What do you think? Is it a good idea to take advantage of the open space above the rail yards? Are you looking forward to the progress? Would you rather see the rail yards open? (not much chance of that) I’d love to hear what you think in the Comments section below.

Sources:
Wiki – West Side Yard
MTA Rail Yards
Building Hudson Yards
The City – Gateway Project Tunnel Connecting NY and NJ Moves Forward
NY State Senate – Letter on Proposed Western Railyards Modification
Hudson Yards West

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