Negotiating NYP

[Palmland]

We are visiting our sons in a couple weeks. We’ll be taking NJT mid-town direct service into NYP with a 25 minute connection to the Pennsylvanian to Harrisburg.

With the added confusion of the new Moynihan train hall I’m a little concerned about making the connection. Any advice on how best to negotiate the NYP labyrinth would be appreciated.

 

[me_little_me]

Take an earlier NJT train then you have time to enjoy wandering Moynihan and less time worrying.

 

[PVD]

does the NJT train stop in Newark ? That would make the connection time much less tight.

 

[jis]

does the NJT train stop in Newark ? That would make the connection time much less tight.

Midtown Directs stop at Newark Broad Street, not Penn Station.

 

[PVD]

thanks, that sure wouldn't help

 

[Palmland]

Take an earlier NJT train then you have time to enjoy wandering Moynihan and less time worrying.

Good suggestion, but logistics wouldn’t work with a household getting ready for work/school.

 

[fdaley]

Twenty-five minutes does seem awfully tight, and NJT sometimes has issues with punctuality. If you're only going as far as Harrisburg and can't get an earlier train into New York, you might consider one of the later Keystone departures.

In general, if you want to get to the Moynihan train hall, you'll want to head to the far west end of the platform to go upstairs. So you'd head toward the back of the NJT train when you get off. However, as we learned on a trip this summer, many of the NJT trains come into Penn Station on tracks 1-4, and the platforms in that part of the station don't all extend far enough west to have access to the Moynihan hall. If you arrive at one of these, just go up one level, and then you can go back down to the platform level at tracks numbered 5 or higher and head back to the west.

Of course, you don't need to go through the Moynihan hall at all. If time is tight and you go up one level from the tracks, look for a video monitor that shows Amtrak departures to find the track number for the Pennsylvanian. Then just go directly to that track and back downstairs, even if you're not at an official Amtrak boarding area. From the mezzanine level (the one directly above the tracks), there should be elevators down to each platform if needed.

 

[JoshP]

My advice: Go to NYP, get on Keystone, it'll get you straight to Harrisburg, one seat ride

 

[fdaley]

does the NJT train stop in Newark ? That would make the connection time much less tight.

Actually, if you don't have too much luggage, there is a light rail link between Newark Broad Street and Newark Penn Station that might work. The weekday Midtown Direct that's due in New York Penn at 10:25 a.m. (and has a 25-minute connection to the Pennsylvanian) arrives at Newark Broad at 10:03. From there, there's a light rail train that departs at 10:23 and arrives at Newark Penn at 10:32, in plenty of time for the 11:09 a.m. departure of the westbound Pennsylvanian.

 

[Seaboard92]

Actually, if you don't have too much luggage, there is a light rail link between Newark Broad Street and Newark Penn Station that might work. The weekday Midtown Direct that's due in New York Penn at 10:25 a.m. (and has a 25-minute connection to the Pennsylvanian) arrives at Newark Broad at 10:03. From there, there's a light rail train that departs at 10:23 and arrives at Newark Penn at 10:32, in plenty of time for the 11:09 a.m. departure of the westbound Pennsylvanian.

That is what I would recommend personally.

 

[Maverickstation]

I would also recommend the transfer in Newark, it will be a lot less stressful that making the connection at New York Penn.
You can take the light rail, or a cab, or Uber/Lyft. The areas that these nations are in are safe.

If you insist on doing to tight connection at New York Penn, board Amtrak from the existing Penn Station, NOT the Moynihan. Amtrak crews can direct you,
Moynihan was not built for NJT, and it's a labyrinth to attempt that type of connection.

Ken

 

[Palmland]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. We do want to stick with the Pennsylvanian to sample its business class service and for earlier Harrisburg arrival. We might do the Newark transfer. We’ve done it in the reverse direction when time wasn’t an issue and sounds like light rail would work if not Uber/Lyft.

We’ll decide after checking our sons’s morning family schedule to see if an earlier train is an option as I would like to see Moynihan. Fortunately the NJT stop, Convent Station, is only 5 minutes from their house but morning bathroom access can be a circus!

 

[jis]

Weekend MTDs are hourly, so you can get yourself an additional hours worth of time to explore Moynihan if you take the previous NJT MTD from Convent from the one you were originally planning to take.

Someone has already posted instructions above on how to get to Moynihan if your NJT arrives at one of tracks 1-4, which is actually quite likely on weekends.

 

[Manny T]

Although the 25 minute transfer times is a bit tight if your NJT is late, if it's not, you're quite probably fine. Not sure why you would want to board your Amtrak train through Moynihan, nor why you would want to go there at all on this trip (except sightseeing or novelty). You can board the Pennsylvanian in Penn Station. There are boarding gates in Penn Station as there have always been. NJT is also in Penn Station. To reach Amtrak, you exit NJT, make a left turn in the corridor, and walk directly into Amtrak. The boarding gates are beyond the seating area. Amtrak usually boards 10-15 minutes prior to departure. So IF (I say IF) your NJT train arrives relatively on time, you have about 10-15 minutes to reach the Amtrak gate -- which should be enough if you don't dally. They'll probably be boarding by the time you reach the gate -- if the Pennsylvanian is on-time. There are monitors to show you your Amtrak departure gate, once it's posted (usually 10-15 minutes before scheduled departure time).

People might not realize that Penn Station and Moynihan Hall are in separate buildings, and importantly, Moynihan Hall CANNOT be reached directly from Penn Station. You have to EXIT Penn Station, CROSS EIGHTH AVENUE on the street, and then enter Moynihan Hall. (If Amtrak plans to remedy this by building a corridor or tunnel from Penn Station to access MH in the future, great). Hence as things now stand, with just 25 minutes for your transfer at most, you should forget Moynihan and stay in Penn Sta.

 

[jis]

Although the 25 minute transfer times is a bit tight if your NJT is late, if it's not, you're quite probably fine. Not sure why you would want to board your Amtrak train through Moynihan, nor why you would want to go there at all on this trip (except sightseeing or novelty). You can board the Pennsylvanian in Penn Station. There are boarding gates in Penn Station as there have always been. NJT is also in Penn Station. To reach Amtrak, you exit NJT, make a left turn in the corridor, and walk directly into Amtrak. The boarding gates are beyond the seating area. Amtrak usually boards 10-15 minutes prior to departure. So IF (I say IF) your NJT train arrives relatively on time, you have about 10-15 minutes to reach the Amtrak gate -- which should be enough if you don't dally. They'll probably be boarding by the time you reach the gate -- if the Pennsylvanian is on-time. There are monitors to show you your Amtrak departure gate, once it's posted (usually 10-15 minutes before scheduled departure time).

People might not realize that Penn Station and Moynihan Hall are in separate buildings, and importantly, Moynihan Hall CANNOT be reached directly from Penn Station. You have to EXIT Penn Station, CROSS EIGHTH AVENUE on the street, and then enter Moynihan Hall. (If Amtrak plans to remedy this by building a corridor or tunnel from Penn Station to access MH in the future, great). Hence as things now stand, with just 25 minutes for your transfer at most, you should forget Moynihan and stay in Penn Sta.

That is not correct. You can get from Penn Station to Moynihan using multiple different routes underground, either via platforms or via the 8th Ave 34th St Subway station without getting into the station.

 

[joelkfla]

That is not correct. You can get from Penn Station to Moynihan using multiple different routes underground, either via platforms or via the 8th Ave 34th St Subway station without getting into the station.

Specifically:

Top of the 2nd column on page 1: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...lic/documents/corporate/for-moynihan-faqs.pdf

"There are two paths between Moynihan Train Hall and New York Penn Station. Customers can exit New York Penn Station onto 8th Avenue, cross 8th Avenue and enter Moynihan Train Hall at any entryway. Or, customers can walk between Moynihan Train Hall and New York Penn Station on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) concourse level through the Moynihan Lower Concourse. Amtrak’s main entrance to the Moynihan Train Hall is located mid-block on 31st Street."​

Lower Level floor plan:
https://jasongibbs.com/pennstation/

 

[Palmland]

Lower Level floor plan:
https://jasongibbs.com/pennstation/

This is excellent. I printed out the pdf and highlighted some of the detail to make easier to read but now I understand how it all works. Thanks.

 

[Manny T]

"There are two paths between Moynihan Train Hall and New York Penn Station. Customers can exit New York Penn Station onto 8th Avenue, cross 8th Avenue and enter Moynihan Train Hall at any entryway. Or, customers can walk between Moynihan Train Hall and New York Penn Station on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) concourse level through the Moynihan Lower Concourse. Amtrak’s main entrance to the Moynihan Train Hall is located mid-block on 31st Street."

1. "Customers can exit New York Penn Station onto 8th Avenue, cross 8th Avenue and enter Moynihan Train Hall at any entryway."

This is exactly what I wrote in my comment (#14).

2. "Or, customers can walk between Moynihan Train Hall and New York Penn Station on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) concourse level through the Moynihan Lower Concourse."

I didn't consider this -- going down another level (the LIRR concourse is a level down from Amtrak). If there is a direct connection from the LIRR to Moynihan Hall, that's great.

As for a direct connection from Amtrak in Penn Station to Moynihan hall that doesn't involve either leaving Penn Station or detouring to the LIRR concourse, I'm not aware of it.

I'm also not aware that if one isn't boarding a train departing from a particular gate and track, one can descend to a platform in Penn Station, walk the length of it, and emerge in Moynihan Hall. The platforms do connect under the two buildings; but are they open to the traveling public for going from one venue to the other at will? If not, I don't see how this can be true: "You can get from Penn Station to Moynihan using multiple different routes underground...via platforms..." I notice that walking via platforms isn't mentioned in the routes given by Amtrak and quoted in comment #16.

 

[jis]

There are lots of things you can do in Penn Station that are not spelled out

The stairs at the west end of the platforms serving tracks 1-4 mostly come up at the lower level which some these days call the LIRR Level, which is the one that connects to the MH at the north end. To get to the so called Amtrak Level you have to take another set of stairs one level up.

Originally the lower level was called Arrival Level and the upper level Departure Level, both an integral part of Amtrak’s Penn Station, and even today you can board an Amtrak train from the lower level or exit an Amtrak train at the lower level. Indeed that is what one often does if connecting to NJT or LIRR. NJT’s East Side Concourse boarding area is halfway between the Amtrak lower (LIRR) and upper levels. The ticket windows are at the upper level.

I guess it is easy to tell who has actually used Penn Station a lot and who has not.

 

[SubwayNut]

The direct connection is actually by using the mezzanine through the A,C,E 8th Avenue subway station, you don't need to swipe into the subway but will go right by the Express platform's turnstiles.

The reason that there isn't better connectivity is that the 8th Avenue subway lines (the station runs from 33 Street to 35th Street, so dont overlap the railroad platforms) tracks cut above the Penn Station tracks and Platfroms and devide the main Penn Station from the new West End Concourse and Moynihan Train Hall.

 

[user 14106]

If you end up on a track other than 1-4 then things of course become much easier - just head to the west end of the platform - and there will be signs on those platforms pointing to Moynihan.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Do be aware that NJ Transit, even on a weekday, is not foolproof. If you get them on a bad day, you may find the NJT train you had planned to catch has been cancelled, and the next two are running 20 minutes late, and the one after that has been cancelled....

However, if you do miss the Pennsylvanian, it does look like there are a couple of afternoon Keystones that would get you to Harrisburg before dark.

 

[neroden]

Penn's a labyrinth, but Jason Gibbs's maps are accurate.