Navigating New York’s Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station

NEW YORK — “In the old time,” Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “you arrived at Pennsylvania Station at the train platform. You went up the stairs to heaven. Make that Manhattan. And we shall have it again.”

The late U.S. Senator from New York, who died in 2003, never got to see his words emblazoned above the Amtrak baggage carousel in a corner of the truss-roofed, skylight-topped interior space that now bears his name. One escalator ride from track level to the Moynihan Train Hall, instead of the labyrinth of multi-level passageways remaining after the original Penn Station was demolished in the 1960s, more than validates his vision.

Yet anyone getting off a train or making connections between Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and Long Island Rail Road service in New York should understand how the Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station now function together — and separately.

Whose tracks?
The U.S. Post Office facility that eventually became the James A. Farley Building, which  now houses the train hall, was built in 1912 over the western portion of many — but not all — platforms of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s newly-constructed station. With the longest of 21 station tracks in the middle and shorter tracks on the sides, only the six most central platforms — handling traffic on tracks 5 through 16— extend far enough to allow escalators and elevators to replace the chutes and conveyor belts that once distributed mail.

There are other constraints. Tracks 1 through 4 are western-facing stub ends, so they are unavailable to Long Island Rail Road trains headed to and from the East River Tunnels. Amtrak used these relatively short tracks for New York-Harrisburg, Pa., Keystone push-pull trains that didn’t need to be serviced at Sunnyside Yard east of Manhattan. But since the new station opened Jan. 1, 2021 [see “News photos: Ribbon-cutting provides first look inside Moynihan Train Hall,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 30, 2020], those tracks host just NJ Transit moves.

Additionally, Amtrak Empire Service trains (including the Lake Shore Limited) can only load passengers on tracks 5 through 9, because those have sole direct access to both the East River tunnels (to Sunnyside) and the “Empire Connection,” which enters Penn south of the Hudson River tunnels.

Thus, the ”old” Penn Station is the only place where travelers have access to all tracks. The Long Island has a separate concourse for its commuters, while NJ Transit built an additional ticketing and waiting area to take pressure off the concourse it shares with Amtrak. Since they wouldn’t have access to all tracks, NJT customers can’t depart from Moynihan. But they may exit through the new station if their inbound train happens to arrive at any track above 4.

Where to board?
Though not advertised, all Amtrak trains are announced and can still be boarded and exited through Penn Station, which is closer than Moynihan Train Hall to busy 7th Avenue subway lines. News Wire recently witnessed the usual line-up in front of Penn’s departure display, where Amtrak and NJT passengers wait for a gate to be posted minutes before departure. Thus, when an Acela departs for Boston on track 9, simultaneous announcements are made for that track at Moynihan and for “9 West” at Penn Station.

Long Island trains are also announced and posted on departure displays at both Moynihan and the Long Island concourse at Penn, including LIRR trains that depart from tracks 17 through 21 (there is an elevator to track 17 at Moynihan, but no escalators). However, those high-numbered tracks can be accessed via a nearby ramp leading to the Long Island concourse, which had been extended west several years ago.

The “Ticketed Waiting Room” at Moynihan, with custom-molded walnut benches and Canadian photographer/artist Stan Douglas’ photo murals dramatizing scenes from the demolished Penn Station, is clearly the most luxurious waiting area for commuters and intercity coach travelers in the country. Ditto for the new station’s plush Metropolitan Lounge, located on Moynihan’s upper south balcony. Exclusively for Acela First Class and sleeping car passengers, it offers an elevated vantage point of a bustling station unlike vistas in any other U.S. venue.

Which way on the platform?
Arriving Amtrak passengers must decide which station they want to pass through. Ticketing and baggage claim is only available at Moynihan, while Penn is closer to subways, offers NJ Transit connections, and has numerous food choices (Starbucks is the only concession currently open at the new facility).

Unfortunately, this was not made clear to Lake Shore Limited passengers arriving on track 6 on Jan. 17. Everyone followed the crowd to the nearest escalator, but that led to Penn Station’s lower-level concourse. Those with checked baggage were then forced to figure out how to get over to Moynihan (see below).

Travelers arriving on an Acela from Washington, D.C., two days later were also not told which way to turn when they got off the train. This would be an easy fix for crews to communicate. A rule to keep in mind: Moynihan is west of Penn, so if the train is heading east, passengers who want the new station should walk to the rear when getting off.