Penn Station Platform Painting

Over the past month, I've noticed all the platforms in NYP are being completely stripped and repainted. All columns/walls/stairwells are being painted bright white, and platforms are getting a heavy duty gray epoxy type coating. New signage is also being installed, including destination signs and track numbers.

Here's one already completed:



I haven't checked to see if this is going all the way north to cover LIRR platforms, but it's definitely moving south to hit all the Amtrak/NJT areas. Again, curious if it'll go to Track 1 or just Amtrak tracks.

Good job for Amtrak on making Penn Station look brighter and more modern instead of grey and depressing. I would assume, especially with Moynihan Station coming along, that this platform painting would eventually extend to the LIRR.

Lets see how long it stays clean,the taggers will attack soon

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 2:33 pm Lets see how long it stays clean,the taggers will attack soon

BSH: New York Penn Station is NOT going to be a place that any graffiti taggers will attempt to
try to tag walls or equipment. There is a wide plethora of security at NYP from Police agencies along with
a NY National Guard presence along with a multitude of cameras at platform level. Some equipment has
cameras (the LIRR M7 fleet is a good example) inside and outside not to mention the railroad employees
of Amtrak, LIRR and NJT on duty at NYP...

JRR: Interesting observation about NYP with the walls being painted white and platforms coated in gray.
The trouble with white is that it is a hard color to keep clean in a harsh railroad environment.

The platforms being coated gray is another interesting feature - I liked the previous maroon or dark red
used on NYP's platforms in recent years platform rehab work.

Trackwork and related station platform level maintenance has improved the track level appearance of
NYP remembering how this has changed over time since the 1970s.

The one beef that I have is that there are less track number signs on the platforms visible from inside
trains than there once was.
I would look for these signs from an arriving train at NYP to get an idea which track the train was arriving
on - and which exits to use when I got off the train knowing NYP well. Some crews do announce arrival
tracks on board which does help with which side of the train that doors will open...MACTRAXX

That grey on the concrete looks more like a concrete sealer, than just a paint.

The platform paint, the grey, is an epoxy - similar to what you see on shop floors in garages. Very thick. They actually have stripped the burgundy paint off down to the concrete before applying the epoxy.

It doesn't look as though this will carry to tracks 1-4, which are exclusively NJT. But I will say - it's improved the appearance of the track level. Along with the actual tracks being replaced in nearly half the station, the track level has never looked better - at least, not in decades.

As this painting/refreshing of the platforms continues, I realized it's likely tied to the opening of Moynihan Train Hall early next year. New signage has been installed around Penn that features directional signs toward Moynihan, so Amtrak obviously wants to clean up the platform experience, particularly for the platforms that will be served by the new hall.