Amtrak/LIRR Moynihan Train Hall

And yet, even in the midst of the pandemic, the FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) companies are snapping up west side office space. I'm afraid I'll still be stuck on NJT for the foreseeable future.

Facebook Leases Large Space At Manhattan’s Farley Building, Signaling Confidence In The City And Office Buildings.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross ... c14f506c90

Mapping The Tech Takeover of New York City
https://ny.curbed.com/maps/amazon-googl ... yc-offices

DogBert wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 8:53 am The trend towards WFH is likely to stick, at least from what I can see in the tech industry. Even when people do go to the office it likely won't be for more than 2-3 days per week, while working from home the rest of the time. Plus anyone with even a slight sneeze or cough likely won't be heading to offices like they used to. The daily news completely closing their news room is a sign of things to come. Companies like twitter have already said there's no need to come back...

We may have seen the peek of transit ridership before Covid.

NYC will make some form of a comeback as it always does, but without a big bailout, transit finances are in a world of pain. People who commute 2-3 days a week at best will not be buying monthly tickets.

That's why I say 75-80%, and say it won't be all at once. Article in the Business Inside stated that the director-general of the World Health Organization said the pandemic would be over in 2 years. I think by that time, the offices will be at 75-80% daily capacity, with a substantial amount of the work force remote (yes, implying some growth).

That's talking generally across all industries. I know some of my office will be cutting down on office space and with Windows 10 allowing multi-monitor remote desktop in all versions, half the local programming staff will be remote full-time... but the positions lend themselves able to be remotely done and the company itself is in a spot where you don't need much staff on-site. Other industries would need staff on site for various reasons: a job that requires physical motion or physical closeness to be effective (IE Wall Street traders), for instance.

Getting back to the topic at hand, the lull is definitely a good time to work on transit project that have been delayed and would need closures. Since you don't need as much equipment to run, you can get away with limited tracking or single tracking more often.

Moynihan Train Hall is also set to open in January 2021, also known as two months from now!

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... ary--62150

Amtrak's Moynihan Train Hall in the former Farley Post Office Building across from Penn Station in New York City is set to open in January 2021, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Flynn said this week.

The new hall will relieve crowding and offer enhanced facilities for travelers using Amtrak and MTA Long Island Rail Road trains, Flynn said during a Nov. 23 media call regarding Amtrak's fiscal-year 2020 preliminary results.

Amtrak and New York Empire State Development Corp. have been renovating the Farley Post Office into the train hall over the past few years.

I still think of it as a fancy way out of the way food court that offers nothing to LIRR riders or other commuters unless they have hours to wait for a train (which does happen), maybe useful to Amtrak riders between trains or who arrived very early for their departures. If you are coming from or going east in Manhattan, you'll probably not even get to close to it.

That's not a bad way of looking at it, because it is after all a new concourse for Amtrak.
I'd hazard a guess that most Amtrak passengers don't really pay much attention to the NJTransit concourse or LIRR one.

Can someone tell me how passengers will access the new Moynihan Station from the current platforms. The last time I got off a train at Penn Station(a year & a half ago), only the far western escalator went up to the new Moynihan station and at that time it was nowhere near completion. Just an exit to outside the new station. I hope there will be better access than one escalator.

Pensyfan19 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:18 pm Moynihan Train Hall is also set to open in January 2021, also known as two months from now!

Hell, according to Amtrak's website, it's supposed to open in less than 2 weeks: https://www.amtrak.com/moynihan-train-hall

Not sure if that's really the plan, but who knows, NJT met their PTC deadline after all…

Didn't see a topic on this, but Amtrak has been promoting their new Moynihan Train Hall opening January 1st.

https://www.timesunion.com/business/art ... uF9gm5ZZN0

So, Mr. Primrose, this means you first enter this "Train Hall", do your bidding using their wi-fi and if eligible, use the Club Acela, or whatever the Lounge is called, then walk across 8th Ave to the dungeon and the "business as usual" to board your train.

This sounds like it will be analogous to the National Visitor Center, formerly and again known as (Wash) Union Station, which proved to be "a dud". The Visitor Centers for the Capitol and the White House are "holding pens" and security checkpoints before starting a guided tour.

Somehow I think ticketed passengers will simply "cut to the chase" and forget about the "Train Hall", if that proves to be the case.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:48 am So, Mr. Primrose, this means you first enter this "Train Hall", do your bidding using their wi-fi and if eligible, use the Club Acela, or whatever the Lounge is called, then walk across 8th Ave to the dungeon and the "business as usual" to board your train.

This sounds like it will be analogous to the National Visitor Center, formerly and again known as (Wash) Union Station, which proved to be "a dud". The Visitor Centers for the Capitol and the White House are "holding pens" and security checkpoints before starting a guided tour.

Somehow I think ticketed passengers will simply "cut to the chase" and forget about the "Train Hall", if that proves to be the case.

It is my understanding that there is direct access from the new area to the platforms used by Amtrak. See the relevant artist renditions. https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/gover ... erings.pdf

Ken W2KB wrote: ↑Fri Dec 25, 2020 10:45 am

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 25, 2020 8:48 am So, Mr. Primrose, this means you first enter this "Train Hall", do your bidding using their wi-fi and if eligible, use the Club Acela, or whatever the Lounge is called, then walk across 8th Ave to the dungeon and the "business as usual" to board your train.

This sounds like it will be analogous to the National Visitor Center, formerly and again known as (Wash) Union Station, which proved to be "a dud". The Visitor Centers for the Capitol and the White House are "holding pens" and security checkpoints before starting a guided tour.

Somehow I think ticketed passengers will simply "cut to the chase" and forget about the "Train Hall", if that proves to be the case.

It is my understanding that there is direct access from the new area to the platforms used by Amtrak. See the relevant artist renditions. https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/gover ... erings.pdf

There are escalators on the west end of the platforms I was leaving off track 6 last night and they are ready to go. Guess next week Ill have to take a walk during my layover.

Yes, they have escalators that run up to the new waiting room/train hall from the platforms. They also have been running even though the doorways are blocked off.

The illustrations in the link from New York's Governor show Amtrak and LIRR, but don't show the words "New Jersey Transit" anywhere. Do you have to pay to be included?

JimBoylan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 25, 2020 2:31 pm The illustrations in the link from New York's Governor show Amtrak and LIRR, but don't show the words "New Jersey Transit" anywhere. Do you have to pay to be included?

I believe so. I think I remember seeing somewhere that NJT didn't pay for Moynihan Station and will still be utilizing the original Penn Station.

In addition to not paying there probably just isn't enough room for all three services to use it and I'm guessing LIRR will still also use their current concourse as depending on where you are coming from or which subway line using the new train hall could be inconvenient for commuters. I think the idea is just to allow the services to spread out into additional space and to provide Amtrak intercity passengers a nicer experience. NJT will become the main user of the current Amtrak concourse - Amtrak passengers will still have access to use the existing ticketed waiting area if its more convenient for them then waiting at the train hall and it will still be the late night concourse for Amtrak when MTH is closed - the existing baggage counter will be used during zero dark thirty hours.