Amtrak/LIRR Moynihan Train Hall

Problem is, the likeliest users will be folks coming from West of 8th Avenue, which is in the opposite direction of the major midtown corporate centers and Broadway/Theater District. Now if the 8th Ave line (A/C/E) exits funnel people into the West End concourse, you'd certainly get more foot traffic.

Patrick A. wrote:... Now if the 8th Ave line (A/C/E) exits funnel people into the West End concourse, you'd certainly get more foot traffic.

My memory is fuzzy, but do you mean that you come out of the station heading east into the start of the LIRR concourse, and have to turn left and do a Uturn to go under the subway to get to the west side concourse? (see this map - which shows the LIRR concourse going over the subway entrance/exit to get to the west side councourse, but i think it is the subway that is on top. ). https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/NYPENN_Directory.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Also this picture which is maybe(?) http://subwaynut.com/ind/34a/34a61.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; where coming down from the subway you do a U-turn to the left to get to the west side concourse?
(Looking west towards the sidways C and E in the previous link?) Not sure about all of this - it has been a while....

The real problem I see for NJT riders coming from the IND is, is where do you find out if your train is on tracks 5-11 (accessible from the west end concourse), or on tracks 1-4, where you have to go back to the next concourse east (the Amtrak area) to get to your train?
Is there any kind of new display for this coming out of the subway before you go down the west end concourse?
JS

all that work and they didn't even bother to put in ticket machines or schedules.

I guess by "schedules" you mean the display for departure tracks I was talking about?
In any case if you ARRIVE on NJT on rear end of a train on tracks 5-11, and want to get TO the ACE, the new concourse would be helpful and save you a few minutes.
JS

pumpers wrote: https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/NYPENN_Directory.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oh FFS where was this when I was approaching Penn last year?!? I could of just went to Grand Central instead of looking around Penn Station for a quarter decent burger. There's no McDonalds there (hell, no burger joints period!).

Anyway, that was your off-topic outburst. Continue on... would love to see a map for it.

Score another win for Cuomo.

pumpers wrote:

Patrick A. wrote:...
The real problem I see for NJT riders coming from the IND is, is where do you find out if your train is on tracks 5-11 (accessible from the west end concourse), or on tracks 1-4, where you have to go back to the next concourse east (the Amtrak area) to get to your train?
Is there any kind of new display for this coming out of the subway before you go down the west end concourse?
JS

Exactly - it's more beneficial to NJT riders arriving at Penn and heading to the 8th Ave IND. For departures, if a train has already been posted, one could use Departure Vision to see track status while still on the subway (since all stations have cell service now) and then if it's track 5-12, use the new concourse.

As to the earlier comment about exiting from the subway, the 8th Ave subway does exit into the new concourse via very wide ramps and stairs.

Are they planning to extend the concourse to tracks 1-4?

hioo1 wrote:Are they planning to extend the concourse to tracks 1-4?

Even though 1-4 are usually used by NJT it may be with the new tunnel bores that it will be better for Albany train turns to use them and would require restoration of 3rd rail.

Appearing on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio, Amtrak President Charles “Wick” Moorman said Friday that the MTA’s payments to Amtrak are primarily their share of the cost of running Penn Station. Moorman said that while Amtrak carries the fewest passengers through Penn—and the LIRR carries the most—Amtrak has paid about 70 percent of Penn’s capital costs over the last decade.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/tran ... 1.13743015" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hioo1 wrote:Are they planning to extend the concourse to tracks 1-4?

I thought it wasnt physically possible to extend the WEC over to Tracks 1-4

Someone tell little Mario about the 70% and watch his head explode.

geico wrote:

hioo1 wrote:Are they planning to extend the concourse to tracks 1-4?

I thought it wasnt physically possible to extend the WEC over to Tracks 1-4

It is physically possible and an extension plan to tracks 1-4 was an option of the project and diagrams were drawn up which is found on the Moynihan station project website. As they build out the train hall, they will decide if it is in their best interest to add the extension or not depending on usage of those tracks in the future. NJ Transit has not committed to West End Concourse so as of now its unclear what will happen. The new concourse handles all LIRR and Amtrak trains as of now.

Before, concourse was tiny and very infrequently used. Was a dead end essentially and missing lots of tracks and no entranceway from the building above. Now it is a full scale concourse for LIRR and Amtrak usage and also improves subway access to the A, C, and E lines.

As Penn Station gets overcrowded and can be completely wall to wall people at times, this should help out a lot. Amtrak Penn Station concourse is usually not crowded and takes away space for NJ Transit. So It may just make sense for Amtrak to pull into new train hall and for NJ Transit to get access to the old Amtrak space for a waiting area. Perhaps a small NJ extention for the four gates will be necessary but they can always do that after the train hall is completed and Amtrak moves in.

I can't remember if we linked this article, so here goes: Crains

Brief, fair-use:

$1.6 billion Penn Station expansion plan is a done deal

The Cuomo administration announced Friday afternoon it has completed a $1.6 billion deal with a group of private developers to transform the Farley Building into a western annex of Penn Station. It will house train halls for Amtrak and Long Island Railroad along with retail and commercial space.

A partnership between the Related Cos., Vornado Realty Trust and construction giant Skanska will build it and pay $630 million of its cost in return for the right to operate and collect income from the 700,000 square feet of office and retail to be created in the Farley Building.

The remainder of the project's cost will be met with $550 million from New York state and $420 million from Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority and federal grants.

The transportation facility, which will connect below ground to a recently-opened western concourse in Penn Station that provides access to 17 of the facility's 21 tracks, will be called Moynihan Station after the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who championed the idea to convert the building into a train station beginning in the 1990s.
...

When I first set foot on the property I was told we would be in the old post office in less than 4 years. It was a done deal. Well that didnt happen. Now we have another agreement in place got 10 to go I'll believe it when I see it.;..