Construction and opening The
Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction, rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the
City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the city and two separate private companies, the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue,
Varick Street, and
West Broadway to serve the
West Side of Manhattan. The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the
Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto
42nd Street, before finally turning onto
Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the
42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new
Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up
Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension. It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as
Chelsea and
Greenwich Village. 34th Street–Penn Station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line was opened on June 3, 1917, as part of an extension of the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the dominant subway in
Manhattan at the time, from Times Square–42nd Street to
South Ferry. Concrete-laying for the platforms had started shortly before the station opened, The passageways to Pennsylvania Station were still under construction, forcing passengers to exit the subway station and walk along the street to access the railroad station. A shuttle service ran between Times Square and Penn Station until the rest of the extension opened a year later on July 1, 1918. Afterward, the shuttle ran from Times Square to South Ferry. The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square. An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system. As part of a pilot program, the BOT installed three-dimensional advertisements at 34th Street–Penn Station in late 1948. The
New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans in 1956 to add
fluorescent lights throughout the station. On August 23, 1985, the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awarded a $2.24 million contract to rebuild the station and to double the width of the passageway to Penn Station. The project was scheduled to be completed in spring 1987. Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Program, the station, along with thirty-two other New York City Subway stations, underwent a complete overhaul as part of the
Enhanced Station Initiative. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, charging stations, improved signage, and improved station lighting. Unlike other stations that were renovated under the initiative, 34th Street–Penn Station was not completely closed during construction. In January 2018, the NYCT and Bus Committee recommended that Judlau Contracting receive the $125 million contract for the renovations of
57th and
23rd Streets on the
IND Sixth Avenue Line;
28th Street on the
IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and 34th Street–Penn Station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and
IND Eighth Avenue Line. However, the MTA Board temporarily deferred the vote for these packages after city representatives refused to vote to award the contracts. The contract was put back for a vote in February, where it was ultimately approved. These improvements were substantially completed by May 2019. The MTA announced in December 2021 that it would install wide-aisle fare gates for disabled passengers at five subway stations, including 34th Street–Penn Station, by mid-2022. The implementation of these fare gates was delayed; none of the wide-aisle fare gates had been installed by early 2023. The MTA announced in late 2022 that it would open customer service centers at 15 stations; the centers would provide services such as travel information and
OMNY farecards. The first six customer service centers, including one at 34th Street–Penn Station, were to open in early 2023. The 34th Street station's customer service center opened at the beginning of March 2023. Additionally, the MTA replaced four of the station's elevators; this work was completed in January 2023, along with a new elevator entrance at 33rd Street. ==Station layout==