Any advice for newbie to NYP dealing with the place?

[zephyr17]

I ride Amtrak a lot, but mostly west of Chicago. I nailed down my trip to New York in September and so I will be dealing with Penn Station. I have only been through NYP once and that was back in the 1990s and I don't remember that much about it (except being extremely disoriented).

All the posts referring to the rat-maze nature of the place, the last minute platform postings and stampedes, the "back ways" through non-Amtrak boarding gates make me want to be prepared. I go through CUS a lot, both as a destination station and changing trains there, but NYP sounds like it is on another level (although both underground).

I'll be arriving on the Lakeshore Limited in a sleeper, and departing on the Adirondack (on a weekday). I won't have Club Acela access departing. I am staying at the La Qunita on W. 32nd St and plan to walk from Penn Station to the hotel and back, so I will be going in and out the 7th Ave side, not the 8th Ave side. I think I will use a Red Cap for the Adirondack so at least one question is where do I find them if I don't use one of the 8th Ave entrances. But any tips or advice will be appreciated. I am kind of planning to stop by back at the station at some point during my stay to scout things out there a bit, too.

 

[kbmiflyer]

While Penn Station can be a mess, as long as you look at the directional signs above the walkways you should be ok. Getting out always is the harder part for me, since you come in on the concourse level and have to get upstairs. Leaving always seems relatively easy, just enter the main entrance off of 7th street and follow the Amtrak signs down the hall to the Amtrak waiting area.

A red cap will take care of the other issues with backup and stampedes. I think the red cap stand is over by the baggage area, but you can usually just flag one down and he will give you directions. There always seem to be a couple just outside the Club Acela also.

This is the best place I have found for a map of Penn Sation

http://jasongibbs.com/pennstation/

 

[the_traveler]

Both the. LSL and Adirondack will arrive and depart on tracks 5-8. These are the tracks "on the left" nearest to baggage claim and the Club Acela. I'll let others more familiar with NYC answer about Red Caps on the 8th Ave side.

 

[TVRM610]

As a fairly regular Amtrak rider, I feel like the layout and boarding procedures at NYP are way more simple than at Chicago. It looks like a scary mess and indeed at first overwhelmed me, but really all you have to know is that all the Amtrak trains board from one large open area. A train gets posted on the board, and you line up at the escalator posted and away you go.

Again... All Amtrak trains board from one area. Unlike Chicago where there are multiple "gates" so it's pretty simple.

 

[BCL]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

 

[cfsnowy]

To me, it's well worth the tip to a Red Cap to get around in Penn Station, because I have a totally unreasonable fear of escalators. I usually ask on the train heading to NYP that they call ahead to have a Red Cap meet me downstairs at track level. Even when I don't, there's usually one down there assisting someone else, and they're really good about other people tagging along as long as there's room on the luggage cart.

When I arrive back at NYP to head home, there's usually a couple of Red Caps hanging out at the passenger waiting room. Just let them know you need help, and they'll come get you when it's time to go downstairs to track level.

They're nice guys. Treat 'em right, and they'll take care of you. I especially like Mr. O'Sullivan, if he hasn't retired by now.

 

[AlanB]

I find that the Redcaps when not working a train tend to hang out near the Acela waiting area; not to be confused with the Club Acela FC lounge. The Acela waiting area is down by the east gate for tracks 13 & 14. This is where the Redcaps will seat passengers who have a long wait for their train. And of course all Acela BC passengers are welcome to wait in this area too. Heck even an Acela FC passenger can sit here, but unless the CA is closed, I can think of no good reason to do so.

All other Amtrak passengers wanting to sit in a chair while waiting for a train wait in the smaller general waiting area down by the east gate for tracks 7 & 8. Both waiting areas are on the opposite side of the gates from the Amtrak ticket windows.

When you arrive on the LSL, escalators labeled "Concourse" take you to the Amtrak level. The other escalators take you to the LIRR level. Nothing wrong with coming up on the LIRR level, and at that level you can walk by the 7th Avenue Subway and come up on the east side of 7th Avenue if you like.

 

[greatcats]

I had not been in NYP in several years until last month. I was pleased to discover that more rest rooms are available than in the past. The Amtrak ones are on the north end of the main waiting room, and while heavily used, seemed better than they used to be. Then there are a second set in the relatively new New Jersey Transit waiting area in the southeastern part of the station, which were not open late in the evening. NYP does leave something to be desired, but it is not the worst place in the world, and is better than in years past.

 

[SubwayNut]

There is a third set of restrooms in the LIRR waiting room. Plus the much cleaner ones in the ClubAcela that I'll sometimes enter (I'm Select+) just to use.

 

[guest in the west]

I stayed at the same La Quinta in November last year. Be very firm with them about what you reserved e.g.. a non-smoking room, or you could very well end up with the dregs, depending on how late in the day you check in. I got in late, and even though I had a no-smoking room, they had none left and I got a room that smelled like a humidor. When I told the guy he should move me to a comparable hotel to honor what I had reserved, he laughed and asked if I really wanted to stay in outer Queens, since that would bed the location of a comparable property. As it was 9 at night, I suffered instead. But I haven't stayed in a La Quinta anywhere since, and have promised myself I never will again.

It should be totally renovated by now, and hopefully much nicer than it was in November 2012, when frankly it was barely above the level of a fleabag dump. The elevators are slow, the front desk people surly (like many in NYC, I guess) and the location incredibly noisy as it is in Koreatown, where bars stay open VERY late, until 2 or 3 a.m., and then the trash trucks come beginning at 5:05 a.m. to haul away the humungous amounts of trash left on the street. And you hear EVERY one of them! On the plus side, the breakfast room is actually pleasant, and let's face it, the place is incredibly cheap compared to practically any other hotel in Manhattan--the one and only reason to stay there. The walk between Penn Station is not bad, though if you are rolling a bag, you will constantly have people banging into you from front and rear as they hurry to wherever they have to be going.

All in all, I'd rather be sleeping on the train!

Good luck!

 

[greatcats]

I stayed at the Hilton Garden on 28th St and 6th Ave. last month. By NY standards, it was fairly reasonable, very decent hotel, and very hospitable employees.

 

[A.J.]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

 

[NW cannonball]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

Right -- thanks kbmiflyer for the map http://jasongibbs.com/pennstation/ -- watch the display boards, leave some extra time, don't fear to ask anyone how to get to your train. Few passengers will know the Adirondack, but most Amtrak employees will know.

No worries mate.

 

[BCL]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness that's mostly overblown, although there are genuinely rude New Yorkers. Even then, more than half the people in Manhattan are from somewhere else, including probably every country in the world.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness that's mostly overblown, although there are genuinely rude New Yorkers. Even then, more than half the people in Manhattan are from somewhere else, including probably every country in the world.

Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia actually have more Rude People per Capita than the Apple!

 

[J-1 3235]

Easy now, Jim!

 

[ericr]

Most of the "rudeness" just tends to be people in a rush. When asking questions, just be prepared to answer about where you are going, and don't start talking about your skydiving hobby or pet iguana.

Of course, I was born in NYC, so I could just be used it.

 

[Acela150]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness that's mostly overblown, although there are genuinely rude New Yorkers. Even then, more than half the people in Manhattan are from somewhere else, including probably every country in the world.

Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia actually have more Rude People per Capita than the Apple!

Philly has more "rude people" then NYC? That's news to me.. I'd believe more shooting deaths, but not "rude people".

 

[BCL]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

This! It can seem big, crowded and even overwhelming, but absolutely do not be afraid to pause for a second and ask someone, "where am I and where should be going?" It's easy to get turned around, easy to confuse the landmarks, etc. Just allow yourself plenty of time and try to relax. Get your bearings, scope out where you need to be before it's time to board. And have a great trip!

New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness that's mostly overblown, although there are genuinely rude New Yorkers. Even then, more than half the people in Manhattan are from somewhere else, including probably every country in the world.

Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia actually have more Rude People per Capita than the Apple!

Philly has more "rude people" then NYC? That's news to me.. I'd believe more shooting deaths, but not "rude people".

Wasn't Santa Claus booed (and pelted with snowballs) in Philly?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=1980880

 

[Bob Dylan]

Just don't be afraid to ask for directions. I remember I was waiting for my wife who was coming on Amtrak and I must have asked the same Amtrak employee for directions about three times.

Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia actually have more Rude People per Capita than the Apple!

Philly has more "rude people" then NYC? That's news to me.. I'd believe more shooting deaths, but not "rude people".

Getting Shot seems pretty Rude to me! I did say Per Capita! (and they throw Snowballs and Boo Santa Claus @ Eagle Games! )

 

[NW cannonball]

Most of the "rudeness" just tends to be people in a rush. When asking questions, just be prepared to answer about where you are going, and don't start talking about your skydiving hobby or pet iguana.
Of course, I was born in NYC, so I could just be used it.

Right -- as a sometime visitor to NYC - the locals seem to be mostly helpful, but not inclined to get into long discussions about "where is this, what to do, my hotel is in Brooklyn"

Mostly people are helpful, but if you haven't done the most basic homework about what is where - they won't waste their time. Rightly so.