One of the welcomer features of the new Moynihan Train Hall, which opened January 1, 2021 in the former James Farley US Post Office distribution center, is the use of track indicator stanchions. The old Penn Station, which stood in the place of 2 Penn Plaza and the Felt Forum from 1910 to its final demolition in 1966, also employed stanchions that displayed the track number and time of departure. Grand Central Terminal doesn’t employ them; instead, departures and stations have always been shown on wall boards there.
Last time I was aware, one of Penn Station’s former track indicator stanchions was still there, stored way back in the bowels of the baggage area. It should really be rehabilitated and displayed, perhaps in Penn itself or maybe the Museum of the City of New York.
You can really see the differences in esthetics and design that have come about between 1910 and 2021. The new indicator is streamlined with a uneven 3-D triangular shape.
You may not have been aware, but for quite few years, Long Island Rail Road lines have been color coded. For example, my branch, Port Washington is red; Oyster Bay is green; Hempstead is gold; and so on. The train due to leave from Track 16 is going to Babylon and thus is displayed in its color, aqua green. The Moynihan main floor offers direct access to tracks 5-16, which serve mostly Amtrak, while the LIRR most often uses Tracks 16-21. Track 16 is accessible from the main floor, while Tracks 17-21 can be accessed by an escalator ride to a concourse beneath the main floor, and the LIRR has a “big board” showing all destinations as well as a ticket office.
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For a while, NJ Transit had color-coding, or at least color-coded timetables.
Here’s a more detailed explanation of Penn’s normal track assignments, by individual railroad:
Tracks 1 through 4 are NJ Transit only. These tracks do not allow access to the East River tunnels, so are for NJ Transit trains returning to New Jersey.
Tracks 5 through 12 are shared by NJ Transit and Amtrak. Occasionally a LIRR train will end up on 11 or 12 but not normally.
Tracks 13, 14, 15, 16 are used by all three railroads. So on adjacent tracks sharing the same platform, you can conceivably see a LIRR train to Port Washington and an Amtrak train to Washington. Another such example is an NJ Transit train to Long Branch and an LIRR train to Long Beach. Once, while on a LIRR train to Long Beach, there was a person who thought she was travelling on NJ Transit to Long Branch – no doubt an out-of-towner.
Tracks 17 through 21 are exclusively LIRR trains.
If Metro North ever makes it into Penn, this may all change.
Of course, emergencies, track work, and other contingencies will change this pattern.
Is there just a simple track/platform map for folks looking to board an Amtrak or other line to travel.
The beautiful photos which appear when signing “Moynihan” are nice ‘artwork”.
Old railroader.