New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is to award the construction contract for the Metro-North Penn Station access project.

The contract will be awarded to a joint venture of Halmar International and RailWorks.

The project will provide a direct Metro-North Service from the Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut to Penn Station and Manhattan's West Side.

The current project construction schedule is estimated at 63 months and US$2.87bn (£2.17bn). It is estimated the project will create or retain approximately 4,500 direct jobs and another 10,000 indirect jobs.

In addition to four new stations, the project will turn the existing two-track railway into largely four tracks, with over 19 miles of new and rehabilitated track work. Other aspects of the project include the rehabilitation of four bridges.