NEW YORK — Amtrak’s Moynihan Train Hall, the facility connected to and across 8th Avenue from New York Penn Station, will be completed Dec. 31 and open Jan. 1. The opening of the facility in the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building will conclude a $1.6 billion project that has taken more than three years, and will increase Penn Station’s size by 50%, the website Gothamist reports.
Amtrak has released an animated “fly through” video of the facility — available on YouTube — and in a statement today by board chairman Tony Coscia, said the addition “will deliver the world-class rail travel experience our customers deserve when traveling to and from this incredible city. The beautiful vistas, modern design, new amenities and enhanced accessibility features showcase the kinds of improvements Amtrak is undertaking across our network. Amtrak dreamed up this plan 35 years ago and we deeply thank the Governor [Gov. Andrew Cuomo], Senator [Chuck] Schumer and the New York Congressional delegation, and all our partners for helping to make it a reality.”
One of the signature features of the new facility will be a 92-foot-high glass skylight over an atrium approximately the size of Grand Central Terminal’s main hall. The Train Hall, named for the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, will include a new reserved customer waiting room, free customer WiFi throughout the hall, Red Cap service, and a new Metropolitan Lounge including increased food and beverage offerings.
The facility will be closed overnight from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., and will offer full Amtrak services from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Penn Station will remain open 24 hours a day. Tracks 1-4 will be accessible only from Penn Station, while tracks 5-16 will be accessible from the Moynihan Hall.
