Tracks 7 - 8 are also fair game for Empire trains.
Empire Service discussion
- Thread starter John Bobinyec
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There is an elevator from the concourse level to the lounge on the first floor, near the 31st Street entrance.
Mystic River Dragon
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Redcap review from my trip to upstate New York:
Getting off a Regional — really nice redcap (Sam—I’ve had him before) met me at the train and took me to the Moynihan lounge. Sam came back for me to put me on the Empire Service but passed me on to another redcap —also very nice —because he was dealing with a bunch of people for another train.
Albany—wonderful redcaps — one met the train coming in and took several of us up in the elevator, and another took several of us down today.
The wilderness area of tracks 5 and 6 at NYP today:
No redcap in sight, elevator way at the other end of the platform, and several staircases in front of me. Staircase 1 said “To NJT trains” so I skipped that and went up staircase 2. I think I did pretty much what Just-Thinking-51 did—ended up in a dumpy underground and emerged in the old Penn Station and had to cross the road. I asked directions of one employee and she said to go up the escalator and cross the road.
Well, I did it—emerged out into the wilds of NYC (surprisingly calm and tame compared to what I thought it would be like) and crossed the road to Moynihan and from there it was fairly easy to follow the signs and get to the lounge.
I took the Acela First Class from NYP to PHL, and one of the desk attendants took me and two others down.
To summarize: Going north, redcap service at NYP good. At Albany: wonderful in both directions. Going south and changing trains at NYP: just remind yourself that travel is an adventure and congratulate yourself on getting so many staircase credits on your Fitbit.
Getting off a Regional — really nice redcap (Sam—I’ve had him before) met me at the train and took me to the Moynihan lounge. Sam came back for me to put me on the Empire Service but passed me on to another redcap —also very nice —because he was dealing with a bunch of people for another train.
Albany—wonderful redcaps — one met the train coming in and took several of us up in the elevator, and another took several of us down today.
The wilderness area of tracks 5 and 6 at NYP today:
No redcap in sight, elevator way at the other end of the platform, and several staircases in front of me. Staircase 1 said “To NJT trains” so I skipped that and went up staircase 2. I think I did pretty much what Just-Thinking-51 did—ended up in a dumpy underground and emerged in the old Penn Station and had to cross the road. I asked directions of one employee and she said to go up the escalator and cross the road.
Well, I did it—emerged out into the wilds of NYC (surprisingly calm and tame compared to what I thought it would be like) and crossed the road to Moynihan and from there it was fairly easy to follow the signs and get to the lounge.
I took the Acela First Class from NYP to PHL, and one of the desk attendants took me and two others down.
To summarize: Going north, redcap service at NYP good. At Albany: wonderful in both directions. Going south and changing trains at NYP: just remind yourself that travel is an adventure and congratulate yourself on getting so many staircase credits on your Fitbit.
It is possible to transition between Penn Station and Moynihan without going outdoors, but the signage is sometimes not helpful.
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Yes. If you’re on the upper Amtrak level of Penn station, you first have to go to the lower LIRR level. On the LIRR level follow the signs for Amtrak - you go through the entrance to the 8th avenue ACE subway station and after that you’ll end up in the West End Concourse which is the lower level of Moynihan. There are then escalators and elevators to get from there to the train hall. Do the opposite to get to Penn station from Moynihan.
The Amtrak website does not list Albany as a station that offers Red Cap service. On the other hand, I absolutely have received excellent baggage assistance there. Perhaps they are the checked baggage folks doing "double duty" and are not technically red caps, but certainly filled that role.Redcap review from my trip to upstate New York:
Getting off a Regional — really nice redcap (Sam—I’ve had him before) met me at the train and took me to the Moynihan lounge. Sam came back for me to put me on the Empire Service but passed me on to another redcap —also very nice —because he was dealing with a bunch of people for another train.
Albany—wonderful redcaps — one met the train coming in and took several of us up in the elevator, and another took several of us down today.
The wilderness area of tracks 5 and 6 at NYP today:
No redcap in sight, elevator way at the other end of the platform, and several staircases in front of me. Staircase 1 said “To NJT trains” so I skipped that and went up staircase 2. I think I did pretty much what Just-Thinking-51 did—ended up in a dumpy underground and emerged in the old Penn Station and had to cross the road. I asked directions of one employee and she said to go up the escalator and cross the road.
Well, I did it—emerged out into the wilds of NYC (surprisingly calm and tame compared to what I thought it would be like) and crossed the road to Moynihan and from there it was fairly easy to follow the signs and get to the lounge.
I took the Acela First Class from NYP to PHL, and one of the desk attendants took me and two others down.
To summarize: Going north, redcap service at NYP good. At Albany: wonderful in both directions. Going south and changing trains at NYP: just remind yourself that travel is an adventure and congratulate yourself on getting so many staircase credits on your Fitbit.
Exactly, someone from the baggage area helped me, and was very good.
fdaley
OBS Chief
If you're arriving on Amtrak and want to get up into the Moynihan hall, I do think the easiest way is to follow the yellow to that elevator at the far west end of the platform. If the arriving train pulls east along the platform, it can be a long hike, but it saves having to navigate the maze of the lower level of the old Penn Station. Going up and out to the street is not a bad second choice if the weather is decent, but it almost certainly involves longer hike.
America's large cities are not as dangerous as a lot of the discourse going about makes them out to be. I would definitely prefer to cross 8th Avenue to get from the Old Penn Station to Moynihan than cross Park Heights Ave. or Reisterstown Road, two of the main arterials in my suburban Baltimore neighborhood. (The main danger comes from the auto traffic, not any scruffy-looking characters that may or may not be about.)
That said, it's easy to get directly from train to Moynihan without dealing with the old Penn Station at all. If you're coming in from Albany, just walk towards the rear of the train, which will be the west end of the platform. Take the last escalator going up, and that will take you right into Moynihan. There's also an elevator as well, for those who need it.
Mystic River Dragon
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I can walk that distance easily. It’s a balance issue. Once the trains have left, I get a panicky feeling that I could veer off and fall onto the tracks. A redcap at PHL told me it’s very common—a lot of people feel like that. So going up a staircase with a railing and being away from the tracks is easier for me, even if the walk is longer.
Actually, I wasn’t worried about crime at all—it was the middle of the day on a weekend. It’s more a claustrophobic feeling—I’ve always assumed, from looking out the train windows and seeing all those buildings up against each other, that the streets were like that, too—people jam-packed against each other on the sidewalk with no room to move. But it was fine—I’ve been on more crowded sidewalks in Philly.
It must have been the baggage guys, then. They had a little room and were wearing red jackets, so I just assumed they had started redcap service. I love the Albany station. I was supposed to travel the day the bridge mess near Yonkers messed everything up and had arrived at the station before I knew about it. I got a hotel room, rebooked my tickets at no charge, and got a sandwich and cheesecake from the delightful cafe, and sat for a few minutes before I got a Lyft to the hotel, so I was able to see how the Albany staff handled the situation. I was super impressed. They were polite and helpful to everyone. One Amtrak employee seemed to act as a “floater”— helping people figure out their best options. And the ticket agent rebooked my ticket cheerfully. Announcements were made routinely with updates.
After the crowds had gotten on the trains, I thanked the “floater” for his help and said I was staying an extra day and had just ordered a Lyft to my hotel, and he even asked if I needed help to go out to the Lyft area. I told him no I was fine and it was time for him to get to relax for a while!
Yes, regardless of their actual job category, the folks in Albany were very helpful.
fdaley
OBS Chief
Oh, that must be really disconcerting. In that case, yes, taking the nearest route upstairs is much better than a walk along the length of the platform. If you go up to the old Amtrak concourse on the 8th Avenue side, it's easy to just go out to Eighth Avenue and cross the street to Moynihan.
Large stations like NYP, have “Red Caps” as a separate craft, and are dedicated to only that service. Usually the most senior (able-bodied) employees in the Clerk’s union will bid for those jobs, as they are the most lucrative by far, earning good hourly wage plus tips.
In other station’s, such as Denver, which can’t support having separate Red Caps, during “train-time”, a single baggageman, chosen by seniority, will perform as a Red Cap, if needed, and when those duties are completed, will assist the other baggagemen with getting the train out.
Probably particularly bad in a station like NYP, being underground, high level platform, and the platforms are mostly narrow
Not to mention that third rail lurking down there, at least for the tracks that connect to the Hudson River lines. I still remember my first experience with high level platforms, at Park Street Under when I was about 5. My dad took us (the three oldest boys) into Boston on a shopping expedition (I think he was buying a new suit.) We drove to a trolley station (I think it was the then brand-new Riverside MTA station) and took the trolley in. I somehow intuitively expected the trolley and how to deal with it, but when we took the stairs down to the subway (not yet called the Red Line), the gaps between the platforms freaked me out a little. They did not yet have the yellow lines or the modern tactile bumpy floor panels, and if there were warning signs, I hadn't learned to read yet. Besides which I was responsible for preventing my ***** younger brothers from falling in. I did somehow know about the third rail. Ah, the 1950's.
Anyway, after commuting for several years on said Red Line, I got used to the raised platforms (or lowered tracks), but I completely understand how they could stress out someone, especially if they have balance issues.
P.S. Do not under any circumstances watch the best and most horrifying episode of "Homicide", guest starring Vincent D'Onofrio.
Sounds like another reason for Platform Edge Doors at least on subway stations. Would be tough though to have them at NYP given the varied types of rolling stock with different door spacing that uses it
Track 17 at NYPS has a very narrow platform, only used by the LIRR. It was built so that track 18 also can use it, but there is a fence so that it cannot, except by crew key-opening a door. I don't know why they built it that way, perhaps some notion of a PRR-LIRR thru service.
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Starting to consider my return trip from Syracuse to NYP. On arrival at Penn I go straight from the station to JFK for an international flight.
Travelling on a Sunday so possible fewer Empire Service trains available? in fact just two to be able to arrive at JFK without having to rush to the airport.
I'm tempted to take the later one but of course with Amtrak, on time performace is sometimes unpredictable.
Question: In very general terms, do these regional trains stick closer to their timetable than some of the long distance ones?
Thank you
Travelling on a Sunday so possible fewer Empire Service trains available? in fact just two to be able to arrive at JFK without having to rush to the airport.
I'm tempted to take the later one but of course with Amtrak, on time performace is sometimes unpredictable.
Question: In very general terms, do these regional trains stick closer to their timetable than some of the long distance ones?
Thank you
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You never know what will happen. Engines break down, the bridge at Albany gets stuck, the bridge at the northern tip of Manhattan gets stuck. The odds are with you. But for an international flight, start off as early in the day as you can. If you have hours to kill, before you head off to JFK, walk up to Andrews diner/coffee shop restaurant at 35th & 7th NE corner for a nice long lunch, better than the cafe crap on the train.
fdaley
OBS Chief
From Syracuse, Sunday is the same as every other day, with four departures for New York. The third departure is the Lake Shore Limited, which you probably ought to avoid as it is more prone to tardiness. The two earlier Empire Service departures generally perform well. But as Amtrak25 suggests, if you're connecting to an International flight, it would be best to set out early.
west point
Engineer
This is an example of never travel anywhere to a connection with the last possible method to get to your connecting station / terminal / stop / etc. JFK in this case.
I was foolishly hoping that someone was going to write that Empire Service trains are as good at time keeping as a Swiss watch... ah well, another early morning.
Thanks everyone, all good points and appreciated
Thanks everyone, all good points and appreciated
Looking at the data on Juckins.net for arrivals of train 280 on Sunday for the last 4 months the average delay is 6 minutes. The worst for the last 4 months is 52 minutes. That and one of 27 min were the only significant delays.
In the last few days, 63 broke down on the Mohawk Division, 281 brought it a new engine, and 63 proceded to Toronto 5 hours late. I was on a nearly 2 hour late 69 to Albany last summer, the one day of the year I used the service.
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