On a weekend return trip this past Saturday evening (about 7:00 PM) I was about 15 minutes early for my southbound NEC train on NJT. Well having only that one access point, the narrow escalator stairs, we were backed up into the lobby for what looked like a 20-minute line. I was darned sure I was going to miss that train while I scampered around looking for another access point. Imagine if there had been an emergency! That station is not a safe place to be. And not convenient because I thought the train was going to leave without a whole lot of people. I ended up waiting for an elevator and made it on the train just in time. Then the train, which was an express, was SRO (standing room only) except for the first two cars. They kept making announcements for people to move up but apparently people were lazy/tired because many of them just stood there and blocked up the aisles so we couldn't get by. I joked that if I kept walking I might arrive in Trenton, but I finally found a seat. Wow, their business seems to be doing really well on this line, even at off-peak times. Granted, Saturday was the most gorgeous day we've had in NY in some time. The point of my post is to advise everyone to arrive as early as possible for a NEC train out of NY. It's a hassle to get out of there, so have your round trip ticket (or pair of one ways, if you travel during peak hours on weekdays) bought in advance to reduce the hassle further.
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Arriving 15 minutes early at NYP
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Did you board on the Amtrak (8th Avenue) side or the NJTransit (7th avenue) side?
Lobby? elevator? escalator? - you must have been where the regular crowds form in the "NJ Transit" section of NY Penn with the "NJ Transit" waiting area, ticket booths, rest rooms etc. The crowd waits for the train to be announced and then all rush down the stairs/escalators...
Next time try this — don't go to the NJ Transit section. Instead, go up/forward to the Amtrak gate sections: look for the Amtrak police and Acela lounge areas near the exit stairs towards 8th and 31st — beyond the circular Amtrak waiting hall and south of the the big billboard in the center, where the Amtrak crowd hangs out. There are gate numbers all around and stairs going down to the platforms.
These are your other access points. There are rows of monitors everywhere here - they are not "Amtrak only" displays. Look for your train and platform number and saunter down the stairs. No crowds and no mad rush. You'll usually land up straight into the first two cars of the train with good seating while the rest are pushing and shoving down the far end...
hope this helps
Next time try this — don't go to the NJ Transit section. Instead, go up/forward to the Amtrak gate sections: look for the Amtrak police and Acela lounge areas near the exit stairs towards 8th and 31st — beyond the circular Amtrak waiting hall and south of the the big billboard in the center, where the Amtrak crowd hangs out. There are gate numbers all around and stairs going down to the platforms.
These are your other access points. There are rows of monitors everywhere here - they are not "Amtrak only" displays. Look for your train and platform number and saunter down the stairs. No crowds and no mad rush. You'll usually land up straight into the first two cars of the train with good seating while the rest are pushing and shoving down the far end...
hope this helps
I love it when they announce "Track 9 West" since some of the access points on the 7th Ave side are up only escalators. You see everyone run back up stairs/ramp to go down the Amtrak side. If you know about the hallway (near track 13) that runs down to the midlevel at the Amtrak end, you can beat the crowd. It was always surprising that more people didn't use the 8th Ave. mid level on weekends. Weekday commute times it can still get crowded down there.
LAUNCHman wrote:Then the train, which was an express, was SRO (standing room only) except for the first two cars. They kept making announcements for people to move up but apparently people were lazy/tired because many of them just stood there and blocked up the aisles so we couldn't get by.This happened to me on 3967 on Wednesday: I went downstairs onto track 10 via NJ Transit waiting area and walked onto the rear car which was SRO. The conductor announced that there were plenty of seat at the frontend and there was NO NEED for people to stand. So, people began to walk forward then stopped once the train was in motion.
I had to force my way through the crowded aisles of the rear six coaches in order to move ahead. But once I got to the 5th coach from the front, it was obvious the conductor was right as I EASILY found vacant seats.
I was thinking that those were some dumbass passengers in the rear coaches (who insisted on standing in the aisles) but then I also wondered how many may have been getting off at Newark to catch RVL trains.
A brakeman who doesn't want to get hammered in his cars would keep the doors closed by the 7th Ave. stairs; this way the passengers would walk up and choose whether to walk back or forward. This prevents the SRO situation in the last few cars.
look for the Amtrak police and Acela lounge areas near the exit stairs towards 8th and 31stThe best place to wait to beat the crowd and avoid the end-of-train crush is one level below this area --what was once known as the exit concourse. Go down the stairs beneath the trainboard or the ones behind the Amtrak police desk one level.
Plenty of monitors, access to ALL tracks (stairs on both sides of the corridor) and on really hot and humid days, you can stand in front of the AC ducts and cool down. Plus a lot of times, you'll see your crew passing by as they leave the crew area and they might just signal the track number of your train if they recognize you
When they announce, say Track 9 west, or Track 10 East, that is mainly for the upstairs, main Amtrak area (the "original" if you will 8th Ave concourse), where the tracks are labled, 9W, 10E, etc, etc.
Also, it doesn't matter which direction they may say, 9W say, may not mean that the front (west) part of the train is open (if travelling in a period when all the cars aren't going to be opened), same for 10E - that doesn't mean the east end will be opened.
It is easier to work with the west end of the train (if all the cars aren't opened) because its easier on teh engineer to spot the train, and if low level stops had to be made along the way, and the bathroom is always an issue. But also for the final terminal determines where the cars will be opened. If my train were to come into yard tracks 8 or 9 in Long Branch, which only hold two cars, if I were to have the hind 4 cars opened, we would have to spot the tain in long Branch, and or have the people walk up a significant distance (sometimes they have to do that anyway)
But people when they board a train, 90 percent of hte time I would say, will go into the first door they see, and make a right. Now, if there is 10 cars open of a 12 car train, the rear brakeman may have the doors of the last 2 open cars closed because if not, 8 cars of people will cram into those 2 cars, then argue, why aren't those other cars opened up?????
A tip, like said above, when waiting to board in Penn station, go to the middle level of the station, the 8th ave concourse. Not the upper main level, where the rotunda and ticket windows are, the level below it. You can get to all the tracks from this level, and its less crowded, and you are closer to the train when they annouce it (one level down) Stand at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the main level under the big board. From this point, you can see where the track number will be posted first (somtimes its on teh TV monitors a significant (maybe 10 to 20 seconds) before its put on the big board and or announced. You could be on the train becuase they even announce it. And the stairs in this area of the station bring you down towards the front of the train, where more than likely now there are seats.
Also, it doesn't matter which direction they may say, 9W say, may not mean that the front (west) part of the train is open (if travelling in a period when all the cars aren't going to be opened), same for 10E - that doesn't mean the east end will be opened.
It is easier to work with the west end of the train (if all the cars aren't opened) because its easier on teh engineer to spot the train, and if low level stops had to be made along the way, and the bathroom is always an issue. But also for the final terminal determines where the cars will be opened. If my train were to come into yard tracks 8 or 9 in Long Branch, which only hold two cars, if I were to have the hind 4 cars opened, we would have to spot the tain in long Branch, and or have the people walk up a significant distance (sometimes they have to do that anyway)
But people when they board a train, 90 percent of hte time I would say, will go into the first door they see, and make a right. Now, if there is 10 cars open of a 12 car train, the rear brakeman may have the doors of the last 2 open cars closed because if not, 8 cars of people will cram into those 2 cars, then argue, why aren't those other cars opened up?????
A tip, like said above, when waiting to board in Penn station, go to the middle level of the station, the 8th ave concourse. Not the upper main level, where the rotunda and ticket windows are, the level below it. You can get to all the tracks from this level, and its less crowded, and you are closer to the train when they annouce it (one level down) Stand at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the main level under the big board. From this point, you can see where the track number will be posted first (somtimes its on teh TV monitors a significant (maybe 10 to 20 seconds) before its put on the big board and or announced. You could be on the train becuase they even announce it. And the stairs in this area of the station bring you down towards the front of the train, where more than likely now there are seats.
On the RR, "believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see"
John, aka "JTGSHU" passed away on August 26, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.
John, aka "JTGSHU" passed away on August 26, 2013. We honor his memory and his devotion to railroading at railroad.net.
Jtgshu wrote:Stand at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the main level under the big board. From this point, you can see where the track number will be posted first (somtimes its on teh TV monitors a significant (maybe 10 to 20 seconds) before its put on the big board and or announced.Here I thought I was the only person who stood there.