The western portion of the MTA’s John D. Caemmerer West Side Storage Yard (Western Rail Yard) is an approximately 13 acre site located between West 30th and West 33rd Streets from 11th to 12th Avenues.  The site currently serves as a storage and maintenance facility for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) operations at Pennsylvania Station.  The future development of the Western Rail Yard will require the construction of a platform over active LIRR operations.

Currently, the site is located in an M2-3 zoning district.  Any new development of the Western Rail Yard in a manner consistent with the rest of the Hudson Yards area would require zoning map changes and associated environmental review.  In September 2006, the City and the MTA reached an agreement for a coordinated planning and development effort with respect to the Eastern and Western Rail Yards.  Pursuant to that agreement, HYDC, together with the New York City Department of City Planning and in cooperation and consultation with the New York City Council and the MTA, will prepare a statement of planning and design guidelines for the Western Rail Yard. 

In October 2006, HYDC, in partnership with the MTA, engaged a multi-disciplinary consultant team to perform a technical feasibility and engineering study to determine the optimal means to enclose the active LIRR tracks with a platform to support future development and to assist in the preparation of design guidelines for the site.  Following the completion of the technical study and the design guidelines, the MTA will issue an RFP to select a master developer for the Western Rail Yard and HYDC will participate in the selection process.