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Pennsylvania Station New York, NY
Amtrak inter-city rail station Long Island Rail Road commuter rail terminal NJ Transit commuter rail terminal
Entrance on Seventh Avenue, with Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza in the background
Location	7th & 8th Avenues, between 31st & 33rd Streets New York, NY 10001
Coordinates	40°45′02″N 73°59′38″W / 40.750638°N 73.993899°W / 40.750638; -73.993899Coordinates: 40°45′02″N 73°59′38″W / 40.750638°N 73.993899°W / 40.750638; -73.993899
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor, Empire Corridor
Platforms	11 island platforms
Tracks	21
Connections	MTA New York City Subway: ​ ​ at 34th Street–Penn Station (7th Avenue) ​ ​ at 34th Street–Penn Station (8th Avenue) ​ ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ at 34th Street–Herald Square PATH: JSQ–33, HOB–33, JSQ–33 (via HOB) (at 33rd Street) MTA New York City Bus: M7, M20, M34 SBS, M34A SBS, Q32 Academy Bus: SIM23, SIM24 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: service to airports via NYC Airporter Eastern Shuttle Greyhound Lines: BoltBus and NeOn Megabus: M21, M22, M23, M24, M27 Vamoose Bus
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: NYP IATA: ZYP
Fare zone	Zone 1 (LIRR) Zone 1 (NJ Transit)
History
Opened	1910
Rebuilt	1964
Electrified	yes, all tracks
Traffic
Passengers (FY2017)	27,296,100 Annually[1][2] (NJT)
Passengers (FY2017)	10,397,729 Annually[3] (Amtrak)
Passengers (FY2017)	69,722,560 Annually; based on average arrivals and departures[4] (LIRR)
Services Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Newark, NJ toward Washington, D.C. Acela Express Stamford toward Boston South Vermonter Stamford toward St. Albans Newark, NJ toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Roanoke Northeast Regional New Rochelle toward Boston South or Springfield Yonkers toward Montreal Adirondack Terminus Newark, NJ toward Chicago Cardinal Newark, NJ toward Charlotte Carolinian Newark, NJ toward New Orleans Crescent Yonkers toward Niagara Falls, NY Empire Service Yonkers toward Rutland Ethan Allen Express Newark, NJ toward Harrisburg Keystone Service Croton–Harmon toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Yonkers toward Toronto via Niagara Falls, ON Maple Leaf Newark, NJ toward Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian Newark, NJ toward Savannah Palmetto Newark, NJ toward Miami Silver Meteor Silver Star LIRR Terminus City Terminal Zone Woodside toward Long Island Port Washington Branch Woodside toward Port Washington or Great Neck NJ Transit Rail Secaucus Junction toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line Terminus Secaucus Junction toward Bay Head North Jersey Coast Line Secaucus Junction toward Hackettstown Montclair-Boonton Line Morristown Line Secaucus Junction toward High Bridge Raritan Valley Line limited service Secaucus Junction toward Gladstone Gladstone Branch limited service
Former services Preceding station   NJ Transit Rail   Following station Newark Penn Station toward Atlantic City Atlantic City Express Service Terminus Amtrak Terminus Cape Codder 1986–1996 Stamford toward Hyannis Newark, NJ toward Tri-State Station Hilltopper 1978–1979 Stamford toward Boston South Newark, NJ toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer 1972–1995 Stamford toward Montreal Newark, NJ toward Kansas City National Limited 1971–1979 Terminus Newark, NJ toward Chicago Three Rivers 1995–2005
Location
Pennsylvania Station New York, NY Location in New York City Show map of Manhattan Pennsylvania Station New York, NY Pennsylvania Station New York, NY (New York City) Show map of New York City Pennsylvania Station New York, NY Pennsylvania Station New York, NY (New York) Show map of New York Pennsylvania Station New York, NY Pennsylvania Station New York, NY (the US) Show map of the US

Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 630,000 passengers per weekday as of 2018^[update].^[5][a] Penn Station is in Midtown Manhattan, close to Herald Square, the Empire State Building, Koreatown, and Macy's Herald Square. Entirely underground, it sits beneath Madison Square Garden, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and between 31st and 33rd Streets, with additional exits to nearby streets.

Penn Station has 21 tracks fed by seven tunnels (the two North River Tunnels, the four East River Tunnels, and the single Empire Connection tunnel). It is at the center of the Northeast Corridor, a passenger rail line that connects New York City with Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and intermediate points. Intercity trains are operated by Amtrak, which owns the station, while commuter rail services are operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New Jersey Transit. Connections are available within the complex to the New York City Subway, and buses. The old "Hilton Corridor" formerly provided indoor connection with the 34th Street–Herald Square subway station and 33rd Street PATH station.^[6]

Penn Station is named for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), its builder and original tenant, and shares its name with several stations in other cities. The current facility is the remodeled underground remnant of the original Pennsylvania Station, a more ornate station building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and completed in 1910. Considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style, its headhouse was torn down in 1963, galvanizing the modern historic preservation movement.^[7] The rest of the station was rebuilt in the following six years.

Future plans for Penn Station include adding railway platforms at the station's south end to accommodate two proposed Gateway Project tunnels. Plans also call for adding entrances and concourses to the adjacent James A. Farley Building, a former post office building that had been built along with the 1910 station. Moynihan Station, a project to add new concourses for the LIRR and Amtrak within the Farley Post Office building, is being built in phases.

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History

Planning and construction (1901–1910)

Until the early 20th century, the PRR's rail network terminated on the western side of the Hudson River (once known locally as the North River) at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey. Manhattan-bound passengers boarded ferries to cross the Hudson River for the final stretch of their journey. The rival New York Central Railroad's line ran down Manhattan from the north under Park Avenue and terminated at Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street.

An early proposal for a bridge was considered but rejected.^[8][9] The alternative was to tunnel under the river, but this was infeasible for steam locomotive use.^[10] The development of the electric locomotive at the turn of the 20th century made a tunnel feasible. On December 12, 1901, PRR president Alexander Cassatt announced the railroad's plan to enter New York City by tunneling under the Hudson and building a grand station on the West Side of Manhattan south of 34th Street. The station would sit in Manhattan's Tenderloin district, a historical red-light district known for its corruption and prostitution.^[11]

Beginning in June 1903, the two single-track North River Tunnels were bored from the west under the Hudson River. A second set of four single-track tunnels, the East River Tunnels, were bored from the east under the East River, linking the new station to Queens and the PRR-owned Long Island Rail Road. and Sunnyside Yard in Queens, where trains would be maintained and assembled. Construction was completed on the Hudson River tunnels on October 9, 1906, and on the East River tunnels on March 18, 1908.

Original structure

A small portion of Penn Station was opened on September 8, 1910, in conjunction with the opening of the East River Tunnels. As a result, LIRR riders gained direct railroad service to Manhattan.^[12] On November 27, 1910, Penn Station was fully opened to the public.^[13]

During half a century of operation by the Pennsylvania Railroad (1910–1963), scores of intercity passenger trains arrived and departed daily to Chicago and St. Louis on “Pennsy” rails and beyond on connecting railroads to Miami and the west. Along with Long Island Rail Road trains, Penn Station saw trains of the New Haven and the Lehigh Valley Railroads. A side effect of the tunneling project was to open the city up to the suburbs, and within 10 years of opening, two-thirds of the daily passengers coming through Penn Station were commuters.^[11] The station put the Pennsylvania Railroad at comparative advantage to its competitors offering direct service from Manhattan to the west and south. Other railroads began their routes at terminals in Weehawken, Hoboken, Pavonia and Communipaw which required passengers from New York City to use ferries or the interstate Hudson Tubes to traverse the Hudson River before boarding their trains. By 1945, at its peak, more than 100 million passengers a year traveled through Penn Station.^[11]

By the late 1950s, intercity rail passenger volumes had declined dramatically with the coming of the Jet Age and the Interstate Highway System. A renovation around this time covered some of the grand columns with plastic and blocked off the spacious central hallway with a new ticket office. The Pennsylvania Railroad optioned the air rights of Penn Station in the 1950s. The option called for the demolition of the head house and train shed, to be replaced by an office complex and a new sports complex, while the tracks of the station would remain untouched.^[14] Plans for the new Penn Plaza and Madison Square Garden were announced in 1962. In exchange for the air rights to Penn Station, a new, smaller underground station would be built at no cost, and the Pennsylvania Railroad would receive a 25 percent stake in the new Madison Square Garden Complex. Modern architects rushed to save the ornate building, but to no avail.^[15] Demolition of the above-ground station house began in October 1963.^[16] As most of the rail infrastructure was below street level, including the waiting room, concourses, and boarding platforms, rail service was maintained throughout demolition with only minor disruptions.^[17]

The demolition of the head house was controversial and caused outrage internationally.^[18][19] "One entered the city like a God," the architectural historian Vincent Scully famously wrote of the original station. "One scuttles in now like a rat."^[20] The controversy over the demolition of such a well-known landmark, and its deplored replacement,^[21] is often cited as a catalyst for the architectural preservation movement in the United States. New laws were passed to restrict such demolition. Within the decade, Grand Central Terminal was protected under the city's new landmarks preservation act, a protection upheld by the courts in 1978 after a challenge by Grand Central's owner, Penn Central.^[22]

Current structure (1968–present)

The current Penn Station is completely underground, and sits below Madison Square Garden, 33rd Street, and Two Penn Plaza. The station has three underground levels: concourses on the upper two levels and train platforms on the lowest. The two levels of concourses, while original to the 1910 station, were extensively renovated during the construction of Madison Square Garden, and expanded in subsequent decades. The tracks and platforms are also largely original, except for some work connecting the station to the West Side Rail Yard and the Amtrak Empire Corridor serving Albany and Buffalo, New York.^[23][24]

In the 1990s, the current Pennsylvania Station was renovated by Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and New Jersey Transit, to improve the appearance of the waiting and concession areas, sharpen the station information systems (audio and visual) and remove much of the grime. Recalling the erstwhile grandeur of the bygone Penn Station, an old four-sided clock from the original depot was installed at the 34th Street Long Island Rail Road entrance. The walkway from that entrance's escalator also has a mural depicting elements of the old Penn Station's architecture.

There is an abandoned underground passageway from Penn Station to the nearby 34th Street–Herald Square subway station, which was known as "Gimbels Passageway." After decades of safety concerns, it was closed in the 1990s.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, passenger flow through the Penn Station complex was curtailed. The taxiway under Madison Square Garden, which ran from 31st Street north to 33rd Street halfway between 7th and 8th Avenues, was closed off with concrete Jersey barriers. A covered walkway from the taxiway was constructed to guide arriving passengers to a new taxi-stand on 31st Street. In addition, the direct connection escalators from Penn Station to the lobby of Madison Square Garden were closed and later removed.

Despite the improvements, Penn Station continues to be criticized as a low-ceilinged "catacomb" lacking charm, especially when compared to New York's much larger and ornate Grand Central Terminal.^[18] The New York Times, in a November 2007 editorial supporting development of an enlarged railroad terminal, said that "Amtrak's beleaguered customers...now scurry through underground rooms bereft of light or character."^[25]Times transit reporter Michael M. Grynbaum later called Penn Station "the ugly stepchild of the city’s two great rail terminals."^[26]

Services

The station is served by 1,300 arrivals and departures per day, twice the number during the 1970s.^[27] There are more than 600,000 commuter rail and Amtrak passengers who use the station on an average weekday,^[28][29] or up to one thousand every ninety seconds.^[30] It is the busiest passenger transportation facility in the United States^[31] and in North America.^[32][33]

Intercity rail

Amtrak

Amtrak owns the station and uses it for the following services:

• 
  Acela Express to Boston (northern terminus) and Washington D.C. (southern terminus)


• 
  Adirondack to Montréal
  


• 
  Cardinal to Chicago


• 
  Carolinian to Charlotte


• 
  Crescent to New Orleans


• 
  Empire Service to Niagara Falls, NY


• 
  Ethan Allen Express to Rutland


• 
  Keystone Service to Harrisburg


• 
  Lake Shore Limited to Chicago


• 
  Maple Leaf to Toronto
  


• 
  Pennsylvanian to Pittsburgh


• 
  Northeast Regional to Boston or Springfield (northern termini) and Roanoke, Newport News, or Norfolk (southern termini)


• 
  Palmetto to Savannah


• 
  Silver Meteor to Miami


• 
  Silver Star to Miami


• 
  Vermonter to Washington D.C. (southern terminus) and St. Albans (northern terminus)

Despite its status as the busiest train station for Amtrak, Pennsylvania Station does not have adequate clearance for its Superliner railcars.

Amtrak normally uses tracks 1–16 alongside New Jersey Transit, as well as the LIRR for 13–16.

Commuter rail

Long Island Rail Road

The following Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) services terminate at Penn Station:

• 
  Babylon Branch to Babylon with connecting service to Montauk
  


• 
  Belmont Park Branch seasonal service to Belmont Park
  


• 
  City Terminal Zone with connecting service at Jamaica station


• 
  Far Rockaway Branch to Far Rockaway, Queens in New York City


• 
  Hempstead Branch to Hempstead
  


• 
  Long Beach Branch to Long Beach
  


• 
  Montauk Branch to Babylon and Montauk
  


• 
  Oyster Bay Branch to Oyster Bay
  


• 
  Port Jefferson Branch to Huntington and Port Jefferson
  


• 
  Port Washington Branch to Great Neck and Port Washington
  


• 
  Ronkonkoma Branch to Ronkonkoma and Long Island MacArthur Airport with connecting service to Greenport
  


• 
  West Hempstead Branch to Hempstead
  

All branches connect at Jamaica station except the Port Washington Branch.

Normally, the LIRR uses tracks 17–21 exclusively and shares 13–16 with Amtrak and NJT. The LIRR uses Tracks 11-12 on rare occasions.

New Jersey Transit

The following NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) branches terminate at Penn Station:

• 
  Montclair-Boonton Line to Montclair, and points west to Hackettstown
  


• 
  Morris and Essex Lines to Summit and Dover and points west to Hackettstown or the Gladstone branch.


• 
  Northeast Corridor Line to Trenton
  


• 
  North Jersey Coast Line to Long Branch, with connecting service to Bay Head
  


• 
  Raritan Valley Line to Raritan and High Bridge
  

NJT normally has the exclusive use of tracks 1–4, and shares tracks 5–16 with Amtrak and tracks 13–16 with the LIRR as well. The NJT uses track 17 on rare occasions.

Rapid transit

New York City Subway

Connections are available to the following New York City Subway stations:^[34]

• From Penn Station:
  
  
  
  • 
    A, ​C, and ​E trains at 34th Street–Penn Station station, under Eighth Avenue
  
  
  • 
    1, ​2, and ​3 trains at 34th Street–Penn Station station, under Seventh Avenue
  
  
  
  


• From Herald Square, one block east at Sixth Avenue:
  
  • 
    B, ​D, ​F, ​M​, N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W trains at 34th Street–Herald Square station, under Broadway & Sixth Avenue
  
  

PATH

Connections are also available to the PATH system at Herald Square, one block east at Sixth Avenue. The JSQ-33, HOB-33, and JSQ-33 (via HOB) trains stop at 33rd Street station, under Sixth Avenue.

Bus and coach

NYC Airporter provides bus transportation to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, and is authorized by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York City Department of Transportation.

New York City Bus

The following MTA Regional Bus Operations buses stop near Penn Station:^[35]

• 
  M7 (Lenox, Columbus, Amsterdam, Sixth and Seventh Avenues): southbound to Greenwich Village, via Seventh Avenue; or northbound to Harlem via Sixth, Amsterdam, and Lenox Avenues


• 
  M20 (Seventh and Eighth Avenues/Varick and Hudson Streets): northbound to Lincoln Center via Eighth Avenue; or southbound to South Ferry via Seventh Avenue


• 
  M34 Select Bus Service (34th Street Crosstown): westbound to Javits Center; or eastbound to FDR Drive
  


• 
  M34A Select Bus Service (34th Street Crosstown): westbound to Port Authority Bus Terminal; or eastbound to Waterside Plaza and Kips Bay
  


• 
  Q32 (Fifth and Madison Avenues): northbound only, to Jackson Heights, Queens
  

Intercity coach

BoltBus

BoltBus is a discount bus company owned and operated under a 50/50 partnership between Greyhound and Peter Pan bus lines. They operate intercity bus service from two stops at Penn Station:

Penn Station Bus Stop #1 (West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue)

• Service to Penn Station, Baltimore, Maryland; Greenbelt Metrorail Intermodal Station, Greenbelt, Maryland; Union Station, Washington, D.C.; 10th Street and H Street NW, Washington, D.C.

Penn Station Bus Stop #2 (West 34th Street and 8th Avenue)

• Service to South Station (Gate #9), Boston, Massachusetts


• Service to Cherry Hill Mall, Cherry Hill, New Jersey; 30th Street Station, 30th Street between Market & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Vamoose Bus

Vamoose Bus is a private company that runs buses from a stop near Penn Station (West 30th Street and 7th Avenue) to Bethesda Station, Bethesda, Maryland; Rosslyn Station, Arlington, Virginia; Lorton VRE Station, Lorton, Virginia.^[36]

Tripper Bus

Tripper Bus is a private company that runs buses from a stop near Penn Station (31st Street between 8th & 9th Avenue) to Bethesda Station, Bethesda, Maryland; and Rosslyn Station, Arlington, Virginia.

Go Buses

Go Buses is a private company that runs buses from a stop near Penn Station (31st Street between 8th & 9th Avenue) to Riverside Station, Newton, Massachusetts, and Alewife Station, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Airline ticketing

Penn Station includes a United Airlines ticketing office, located at the ticket lobby.^[37] This was previously a Continental Airlines ticketing office.^[38]

Proposed Metro-North service

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed to bring Metro-North Railroad commuter trains to Penn Station as part of its Penn Station Access project. The first phase of the project would bring New Haven Line trains to Penn Station via Amtrak's Hell Gate Bridge and the East River Tunnels. The second phase would bring Hudson Line service to the station via the Empire Connection.^[39]

Station layout

Penn Station does not have a unified design or floor plan but rather is divided into separate Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit concourses with each concourse maintained and styled differently by its respective operator.^[40] Amtrak and NJ Transit concourses are located on the first level below the street-level while the Long Island Rail Road concourse is two levels below street-level. The NJ Transit concourse near Seventh Avenue is the newest and opened in 2002 out of existing retail and Amtrak office space.^[41][42] A new entrance to this concourse from West 31st Street opened in September 2009.^[43] Previously, NJ Transit shared space with the Amtrak concourse. The main LIRR concourse runs below West 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Significant renovations were made to this concourse over a three-year period ending in 1994, including the addition of a new entry pavilion on 34th Street.^[44] The LIRR's West End Concourse, west of Eighth Avenue, opened in 1986.^[45] The station is so complex that in December 2017, Amtrak and Zyter released a mobile app called FindYourWay to help commuters navigate around Penn Station, though Zyter also plans to roll out the app at other large Amtrak stations.^[46]

In normal operations, tracks 1–12 are used by both Amtrak and NJ Transit trains and the LIRR has the exclusive use of tracks 17–21 on the north side of the station. All three railroads share tracks 13–16.

Station layout
Above ground	Madison Square Garden/Two Penn Plaza[47]
G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
UC	Amtrak Concourse	Amtrak tickets, transfer to 34th Street–Penn Station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) station; exit to 33rd Street, connection to Exit and Connecting concourses[47]
	NJT Concourse	NJT tickets, exit to 31st Street, connect to LIRR and Hilton concourses[47]
LC	West End Concourse	Amtrak/LIRR tickets, transfer to 34th Street–Penn Station (IND Eighth Avenue Line) station; exit to 33rd Street, connection to Exit and Connecting concourses[47]
	Exit Concourse	Exit to 31st Street, connection to Hilton, West End, and Connecting concourses[47]
	Hilton Corridor	Exit to Seventh Avenue, connection to Exit, LIRR, Central, and NJT concourses[47]
	Central Concourse	Tickets, connection to Connecting and Hilton concourses[47]
	Connecting Concourse	Transfer to 34th Street–Penn Station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) station, connection to West End, LIRR, Central, and Exit concourses, to One Penn Plaza and 34th Street at north end[47]
	LIRR Concourse	LIRR tickets, connection to NJT and Hilton concourses[47]
P Platform level	Track 21	→ LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform K)
	Track 20	→ LIRR →
	Track 19	→ LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform J)
	Track 18	→ LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform I); Track 17 only
	Track 17	→ LIRR →
	Track 16	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit/LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform H)
	Track 15	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit/LIRR →
	Track 14	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit/LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform G)
	Track 13	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit/LIRR →
	Track 12	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit/LIRR →
	Island platform (Platform F)
	Track 11	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Track 10	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Island platform (Platform E)
	Track 9	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Track 8	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Island platform (Platform D)
	Track 7	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Track 6	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Island platform (Platform C)
	Track 5	← Amtrak/New Jersey Transit →
	Track 4	← New Jersey Transit
	Island platform (Platform B)
	Track 3	← New Jersey Transit
	Track 2	← New Jersey Transit
	Island platform (Platform A)
	Track 1	← New Jersey Transit

Tracks and surrounding infrastructure

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[ v t e ] Penn Station track map
Legend
North River Tunnels to Secaucus to West Side Yard Empire Connection to Yonkers LD1 LD3 1A 3A 5A 2X 4X 6X LD2 LD4 1E 3E 5E 2A 2 1X 3X 5X 2E 4E 1C 4C 6C 8C 10C 2C 5C 7C 9C Mail platform 1D 4D 6D 7E 3D 5D A Interlocking F M I G U KN Interlocking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (Platform numbers) 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 20 (Track numbers) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 19 21 (Track numbers) C Interlocking JO Interlocking 1 2 3 4 East River Tunnels
Legend
Passenger service tracks Yard/storage tracks Note: Interlocking towers A, KN, C, and JO have been deactivated.
Source:[48]

Normally, Amtrak and NJT share tracks 1–12, the LIRR uses tracks 17–21 exclusively, and all three railroads share tracks 13–16.^[49][50] Tracks 1–4 end at bumper blocks at the eastern end of the platform and have no access to the East River Tunnels. From the east, the East River Tunnels' lines 1 and 2 (the more southerly tubes) can only access tracks 5–17 and are used by most Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, while the East River Tunnels' lines 3 and 4 (the more northerly tubes) can only access tracks 14–21 and are mostly used by LIRR. From the west, the North River Tunnels can access tracks 1–19, while the Empire Connection can only access tracks 1–9 and the LIRR's West Side Yard can only access tracks 10–21.^[48]

All station tracks are powered by 12 kV overhead wire. Tracks 5–21 also have 750 V DC third rail.^[51][52] Due to the lack of proper ventilation in the tunnels and station, only electric locomotives and dual-mode locomotives are scheduled to enter Penn Station.^[53] Diesel-only NJT trains terminate at Hoboken Terminal or Newark Penn Station, and diesel-only LIRR trains terminate at or prior to Long Island City.

Trains on track 18 open their doors only on the north side (platform 10).^[50]

2017–2018 service disruptions and track improvements

Since the early 2010s, Amtrak had planned to fix the deteriorating rails and infrastructure around Penn Station, but due to the prioritization of other projects, applied only minimal fixes.^[54] In early 2017, this culminated in numerous power outages, derailments, and delays due to track maintenance delays. There were frequent service disruptions to train schedules caused by the deterioration of its tracks and their supporting infrastructure, as well as in those of the East River and North River tunnels that respectively connect the station to Long Island and New Jersey.^[55]

A string of early 2017 service disruptions started on March 23, 2017, when an Acela train derailed, causing delays for the day.^[56] On April 3, a NJ Transit train derailed at a known problem site, where repairs had been deferred.^[55] This caused four days of reduced service along the Northeast Corridor for both Amtrak and NJ Transit, because the incident damaged the switch that connects Tracks 1–8 to the North River tunnels.^[57] This closure caused a cascading failure, delaying Amtrak and Long Island Railroad trains on the unaffected tracks.^[56][58] Had the Gateway Program been built by then, the disruptions would have been lessened.^[58]

On April 14, a New Jersey Transit train became stuck in the North River tunnels, causing the station to grow crowded with waiting passengers. After an Amtrak police officer used a Taser on a man who was acting disruptively, rumors of gunshots sparked a stampede that injured 16 people.^[59][60] Following the stampede, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer called on Amtrak to centralize law enforcement response.^[61]

As a result of these incidents, the Long Island Rail Road had proposed taking over Penn Station from Amtrak to improve maintenance,^[62] and New Jersey has suggested withholding state payments to Amtrak.^[56] Amtrak has discussed accelerating major maintenance work, even at the cost of further disruptions, to more quickly stabilize infrastructure and decrease more future incidents that could potentially cause even greater disruption.^[56] On April 28, Amtrak announced that it would perform some track maintenance during the summer^[61] over a period of one and a half months.^[63] Five tracks were closed for repairs as part of the reconstruction work, severely reducing track capacity in a situation media outlets deemed "the summer of hell".^[64][65] Many affected NJ Transit passengers were diverted to take the PATH instead.^[66] Some Amtrak trains from the Empire Corridor were routed to Grand Central instead of Penn Station.^[67] Regular service resumed on September 5, 2017.^[68][69]

Amtrak made further improvements to Penn Station's trackage in summer 2018. As a result, some Empire Corridor trains were rerouted again to Grand Central.^[70] The Lake Shore Limited and Cardinal to Chicago were truncated or rerouted because of this work.^[71]

Platform access

Although most Amtrak passengers board via the escalators in the main Amtrak boarding area, multiple entrances exist for each platform.^[72]

ClubAcela lounge

ClubAcela is a private lounge located on the Amtrak concourse (8th Avenue side of the station). Prior to December 2000 it was known as the Metropolitan Lounge. Guests are provided with comfortable seating, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, newspapers, television sets and a conference room. Access to ClubAcela is restricted to the following passenger types:^[73]

• Amtrak Guest Rewards members with a valid Select Plus or Select Executive member card.


• Amtrak passengers with a same-day ticket (departing) or ticket receipt (arriving) in First class or sleeping car accommodations.


• ClubAcela Single-Day Pass holders. Same day business class passengers may purchase these for $25.


• 
  United Airlines United Club Members with a valid card or passengers with a same-day travel ticket on United Polaris First Class or United Polaris.


• Private rail car owners/lessees. The PNR number must be given to a Club representative upon entry.

Enclosed waiting area

Amtrak also offers an enclosed waiting area for ticketed passengers with seats, outlets and WiFi.^[74]

33rd St to 34th St subway cross-section
11th Av	10th & 9th Avs are skipped	8th Av	Madison Square Garden	7th Av	Storefronts	6th Av & Broadway		5th & Madison Avs are skipped	Park Av
mezzanine		A / C / E	concourse	1 / 2 / 3	Former Gimbel's passageway	mezz	PATH		6 / <6>
mezzanine		mezzanine	concourse	mezzanine		N / Q / R / W
7 / <7>			Penn Station			B / D / F / M

Planning and redevelopment

Gateway Project

The Gateway Project is a proposed high-speed rail corridor to alleviate the bottleneck along the Northeast Corridor at the North River Tunnels, which runs under the Hudson River. If constructed, the project would add 25 cross-Hudson train slots during rush hours, convert parts of the James Farley Post Office into a rail station, and add a 7-track, 4-platform terminal annex to Penn Station.^[75] Some previously planned improvements already underway have also been incorporated into the Gateway plan.^[75][76]

The Gateway Project was unveiled in 2011, one year after the cancellation of the somewhat similar Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project, and was originally projected to cost $14.5 billion and take 14 years to build.^[76] Construction of a "tunnel box" that would preserve the right-of-way on Manhattan's West Side began in September 2013, using $185 million in recovery and resilience funding awarded after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.^[77] In 2015, Amtrak said that damage done to the existing trans-Hudson tunnels by Hurricane Sandy had made their replacement urgent.^[78][79] That year, Amtrak reported that environmental and design work was underway, estimated the project's total cost at $20 billion, and said construction would start in 2019 or 2020 and last four to five years.^[80] A draft environmental impact statement was released in July 2017.^[81][82]

Funding for the Gateway Project had been unclear for several years due to a lack of funding commitments from New Jersey officials and the federal government. In March 2018, up to $541 million for the project was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act.^[83][84]

Main site plans

Resurgence of train ridership in the 21st century has pushed the current Pennsylvania Station structure to capacity, leading to several proposals to renovate or rebuild the station.

In May 2013, four architecture firms—SHoP Architects, SOM, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro—submitted proposals for a new Penn Station. SHoP Architects recommended moving Madison Square Garden to the Morgan Postal Facility a few blocks southwest, as well as removing 2 Penn Plaza and redeveloping other towers, and an extension of the High Line to Penn Station.^[85] Meanwhile, SOM proposed moving Madison Square Garden to the area just south of the James Farley Post Office, and redeveloping the area above Penn Station as a mixed-use development with commercial, residential, and recreational space.^[85] H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture wanted to move the arena to a new pier west of Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, four blocks west of the current station/arena. Then, according to H3's plan, four skyscrapers at each of the four corners of the new Penn Station superblock, with a roof garden on top of the station; the Farley Post Office would become an education center.^[85] Finally, Diller Scofidio + Renfro proposed a mixed-use development on the site, with spas, theaters, a cascading park, a pool, and restaurants; Madison Square Garden would be moved two blocks west, next to the post office. DS+F also proposed high-tech features in the station, such as train arrival and departure boards on the floor, and applications that can help waiting passengers use their time until they board their trains.^[85] Madison Square Garden rejected the allegations that it would be relocated, and called the plans "pie-in-the-sky".^[85]

In 2013, the Regional Plan Association and Municipal Art Society formed the Alliance for a New Penn Station. Citing overcrowding and the limited capacity of the current station under Madison Square Garden, the Alliance began to advocate for limiting the extension of Madison Square Garden's operating permit to 10 years.

In June 2013, the New York City Council Committee on Land Use voted unanimously to give the Garden a ten-year permit, at the end of which period the owners will either have to relocate, or go back through the permission process.^[86] On July 24, 2013, the New York City Council voted to give the Garden a ten-year operating permit by a vote of 47 to 1. "This is the first step in finding a new home for Madison Square Garden and building a new Penn Station that is as great as New York and suitable for the 21st century," said City Council speaker Christine Quinn. "This is an opportunity to reimagine and redevelop Penn Station as a world-class transportation destination."^[87]

In October 2014, the Morgan facility was selected as the ideal area to which to move Madison Square Garden, following the 2014 MAS Summit in New York City. More plans for the station were discussed.^[88][89]

In January 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that requests for proposals would be solicited for the redevelopment of the station, which would be a public private partnership. Investors would be granted commercial rights to the station in exchange for paying building costs.^[90][91]

Moynihan Station

In the early 1990s, U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan began to champion a plan to rebuild a replica of the historic Penn Station, in which he had shined shoes during the Great Depression.^[92] He proposed building it in the Farley Post Office building, which occupies the block across Eighth Avenue from the current Penn Station and was designed by McKim, Mead & White, the same architectural firm that designed the original station.^[93] In 1999 Senator Charles Schumer sponsored and passed legislation formally naming the yet-to-be-constructed facility "Daniel Patrick Moynihan Station" in his honor.^[94]

Initial design proposals were laid out by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 2001.^[95] Designs saw several iterations by multiple architectural firms, and Amtrak withdrew from the plan until 2012.^{[96][97][98][99][100]} Support also grew for "Plan B," an expansion of the project's scope, under which Madison Square Garden would have been moved to the west flank of the Farley Building, allowing Vornado Realty to construct an office complex on the current Garden site.^[101] By 2009, the Garden's owner Cablevision had decided not to move Madison Square Garden, but to renovate its current location instead,^[102] and Amtrak had returned as a potential tenant.^[103]

In 2010, the fully designed elements of the plan were broken off into a $267 million Phase 1. Funded by $83.4 million of federal stimulus money that became available in February, plus other funds, the phase adds two entrances to the existing Penn Station platforms through the Farley Building on Eighth Avenue.^[104] Ground was broken on October 18, 2010,^{[105][106][107]} and the extended West End Concourse opened in the eastern part of the former post office in June 2017.^[108]

Phase 2 will consist of the new train hall in the fully renovated Farley Building. At the time it was first proposed, it was expected to cost up to $1.5 billion.^[109] A proposed name for a station that integrates the existing Penn and the post office building is Empire Station.^[90] In September 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined the details of a proposal that would speed up the construction of Phase 2 of the renovated Moynihan Station. The new hall would be 1 acre (0.40 ha) and be underneath a large glass skylight.^[110] The Farley Post Office would be divided so that there would be some space for a shared Amtrak/LIRR train hall and a retail area, as well as space for the post office. Phase 2, which is now expected to cost $1.6 billion, is being built by Skanska AB, and the retail space would be developed by Related Companies and Vornado Realty; all three companies are supposed to sign a contract by 2017.^[110]

In August 2017, ground was broken on the now-$1.6 billion project.^[111] Although the LIRR and Amtrak will move to the new train hall, NJ Transit will keep using its current platforms because there is no space to extend the NJ Transit platforms westward.^[112] If the Gateway Project is built, NJ Transit would instead move to the southern annex that would be built as part of the project.^[75] As part of Moynihan Phase 2, a new direct entrance from 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue to the LIRR concourse and subway platforms would be built. 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues would be permanently closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a pedestrian plaza. The LIRR concourse would be nearly doubled in width, from 30 to 57 feet (9.1 to 17.4 m), and the ceilings would be raised to a minimum height of 18 feet (5.5 m) The expected completion date for these improvements is 2022. In total, seven new entrances to Penn Station would be built as part of the Moynihan Hall project.^[113][114]

Gallery

See also

• Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad


• Transportation in New York City

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Google Maps Street View

Amtrak concourse

Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street entrance

Eighth Avenue and 31st Street entrance

Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street entrance

Tracks 5/6 & 7/8 Platforms

Tracks 9 & 10 Platform

Tracks 11 & 12 Platform

Tracks 13 & 14 Platform

Tracks 15 & 16 Platform

Tracks 17/18/19 Platforms

West End Concourse

• 
  Media related to Pennsylvania Station (New York City, 1910–63) at Wikimedia Commons


• 
  Media related to Pennsylvania Station (New York City, 1969–present) at Wikimedia Commons


• 
  


• New York Penn Station – Amtrak

• Penn Station – LIRR

• Penn Station LIRR Timetable

• Penn Station – NJ Transit