New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced the start of major construction for a new light-filled train hall across from the cramped and dark Penn Station.

The Democratic governor said Thursday that the planned Moynihan Train Hall was “for many years too difficult to achieve.” He said construction is underway because “New Yorkers don’t give up.”

The planned transit hub in the landmark Farley Post Office building is named after U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat who championed the project and died in 2003.

A concourse linking the Farley building to the existing Penn Station across the street opened in June.

The $1.6 billion project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

The 255,000-square-foot (23,690-square-meter) Moynihan Train Hall will be used by Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak passengers.

(AP)