Newark Penn Station: why so run-down?

[SouthernRailway]

How has NJ Transit let Newark Penn Station become so run-down?

The platforms in particular are derelict; peeling paint, dirt, track locations signs that are just stenciled letters and numbers on wood, etc. The waiting areas are in better shape but they are still old-looking. The exterior of the building needs to be fixed up, too.

Is there a plan for getting the station in better shape? Is it run-down because of NJ Transit funding shortfalls, or is there another reason?

Thanks.

[time]

It's a work in progress, or something.

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[ExCon90]

Who chose the illustration, I wonder?

[SemperFidelis]

Should have seen it in the 1980s...it's a damned palace now compared to then.

[SecaucusJunction]

It's probably in worse shape than NY Penn. if this is the finished product of a $25 million renovation, I think the state should get its money back.

[SemperFidelis]

I wish they would do something to make the boarding platform area seem less gloomy. A very thin coat of brightly colored cement atop the old, grimy stuff with new, bright lines and maybe even some embedded LED lighting would make a world of difference.

Anyone here who has travelled can attest to the fact that our airports and train stations are an embarrassment of poor maintenance, old technology, and poor design when compared to what is seen in most of the rest of the developed world. Most of our infrastructure was excellent for the time it was built, but it is in some serious need of modernization.

Let's hope one day we can put aside all of the silly rhetoric as to who is trying to destroy America and our way of life and find some common ground. Stop wasting money on studies, pet projects, and bloated departments of this and that and spend our money on things that matter.

Before this goes political, I will sign off!

Good to hear from you, Secaucus. I have something going on again in another industry that is just smothered in rail. Touch base with me.

[pdtrains]

Newark Penn is an absolute diamond in the rough. It needs to be cleaned. Really cleaned. The waiting room needs to be restored to its orig grandeur, and the stores built in tastefully, not just plopped on the north side as they are. It is a great PRR train station, It wud cost a lot of $$ to restore it properly, but it would be cool. Bright colors? Really? That would be an abomination.

Speaking of aboninations...NYP... Oh jesus help me. That is such a half built abomination. 600,000 ppl a day in that awful place.. Tearing that thing down and starting over is long overdue.

[SemperFidelis]

Not talking about the waiting area for the bright colors. Just the track level where it is dark and grimy. The waiting area, as you stated, is one of the classic PRR designs that deserves preservation. Sorry, I must have been unclear.

[necrails]

To each his own I suppose but this has to be the worst station on the NEC. Dirty, dingy, drafty, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer. Thank you NJT for a partial one seat ride on the RVL, now I don't have to get off and wait in this excuse for a train station. But is is Newark so expectations should not be very high.

[R36 Combine Coach]

To each his own I suppose but this has to be the worst station on the NEC.

NWK is quite nice and improved, safer and cleaner than in the past. If there was a "worst" station on the entire NEC, based on comments it seems Back Bay (BBY) would win.

[mohawkrailfan]

Worst station on the NEC?

North Philly. Cornwells Heights.

Non-Amtrak division, it's Eddington by a country mile.

[JeffersonLeeEng]

I once was looking for a place to charge my phone one late(ish) night a few months ago and the only indication of a feasible charging station was something that looked to be attacked by wolves. You really can't have anything nice here. This place is worse than Trenton. :-/

[JeffersonLeeEng]

If there was a "worst" station on the entire NEC, based on comments it seems Back Bay (BBY) would win.

Back Bay is a haven compared to Newark-Penn. To be honest, I'm not quite certain about a few stops along SEPTA's regional rails that merely track sheds accessible as step-downs-from-major-cross-traffic-highways. :-/

[SecaucusJunction]

Just because it's questionable to whether this station is the worst station on the NEC or not, doesn't mean it doesn't need a whole lot of work. The station is crumbling, dark, dirty, and not a place where anyone would want to go if not forced to do so. If NJT wants to encourage ridership to Newark (which is also questionable at best), then they're going to have to invest a lot more money in there. New platforms, a lot of paint, more seating, and a lot of lighting would go a long way into fixing the problem.

[andegold]

NJT already serves close to 30,000 passengers a day here. That's about as many as Amtrak serves out of New York. How many more do you think they could fit? Where would you put additional seating? The times when you need seating the most are also the times when the platforms are the most crowded. A fresh coat of paint and some better lighting would be nice though as would better security on the western (Market St?) stairs.