What opened as the Moynihan Train Hall at New York Penn Station on January 1, 2021 in the former mail sorting area of the old Farley Post Office Building, can be said to have started as an idea ever since the original Pennsylvania Station was demolished between 1963 and 1968 and the busiest train station in North America become a dark and dingy ‘subway’ station beneath Madison Square Garden and some other office buildings.
In 1984 the Long Island Railroad made very humble beginnings to having Penn Station expand to the west with the opening of the West End Concourse, this short concourse had two staircases down to each of the platforms for track 13 through 21, primarily used by the Long Island Rail Road. This concourse had grey cinderblock looking walls, purple accent tiles, and indirect lighting with staircases down to each of the platforms. There were also windows down to the platforms. It was primary designed to allow Long Island Railroad commuters with easier access to the 8th Avenue subway, and all access was through the subway station, with two entrances one from the lower-level A train Express platform’s mezzanine area (via a gentle inclide), and one with a half-staircase of steps down from the upper-level Downtown C,E Local trains mezzanine area. The closest exit to the street was via a subway entrance at the SW corner of 31st Street and 8th Avenue (to a fare control area for Uptown C,E local trains that has been renovated and still exists today). All access to the rest of the Penn Station via the entrance fare control area beneath the A trains express tracks platform . This is still the case today, the only way to get from the West End Concourse and Moynihan Train Hall is via passing through the white tiled walled 8th Avenue subways under the subway platforms mezzanine area or via a train platform.
In 2010, the first preparations were made to start renovating this into the new and expanded West End Concourse. The former tiling of the West End Concourse replaced with blue construction by 2014, but access to the same tracks used by the Long Island Railroad tracks was maintained. The western ends of all station tracks becoming extremely narrow because of this construction. This rebuilt West End Concourse, opened on June 15, 2018 more than doubled the width of the concourse with a staircase along the eastern wall down to the east side of each platform and an elevator along the western side of most platforms, although the two platforms for tracks 18 and 19, along with 20 and 21 only have staircase access because they are shorter and end before there could be space for the elevators. These elevators all continue to upper landings along the western end of the main Moynihan Train Hall.
This concourse is modern with white walls, lots of LCD displays (including LCD displays on the ceiling that are trying to act like skylights) pillars for each track have large yellow lettering, and changing color LED lighting, plus plenty of charging stations (the modern concourse resembles the ‘sexy’ design for infrastructure projects that has Governor Cuomo’s toxic narcissism all over them emphasizing flashy spaces for ribbon cuttings over functionality). Windows still provide views down to the track area below. No access can ever be provided the two platforms used by tracks 1 through 4, always used by New Jersey Transit because these platforms are shorter and the West End Concourse is directly over switches down to them, with no way to build access because the 8th Avenue subway tracks area in the way while they pass over the railroad tracks below. When I visited in 2018, signs said to walk to the main station via the platforms for tracks 5 and 6 to reach NJ Transit platforms 1 through 4. (In the past this was ill advised as lots of signs said the platforms at Penn Station were reserved for ticketed passengers only getting on and off trains, and all others were trespassing), Moynihan Train Hall was branded and has departure information for only the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak because of these 4 New Jersey Transit tracks that are inaccessible directing all passengers to go and wait in the main station.
The Concourse had two entrances open with it in 2018, at the SW corners of 33rd Street and NW corner of 31st Street and 8th Avenue. This description is from a visit in October 2018: the tops of the doors are branded with To Trains and LIRR in black lettering (with Long Island Rail Road in smaller text beneath). The 31st Street entrance led down to ramps with white walls, covered by abstract images of New York City before a staircase and the elevator that also leads down to track 5 and 6 leads down to the West End Concourse. The 33rd Street entrance is similar except for blue walls that say Ticketing: To Trains, and a word wall that says LIRR, Amtrak, NJ Transit in large letters that lead to a switchback down to a combined staircase/two escalators down to the West End Concourse, the elevator that continues down to track 17 provided accessible access.
The main Moynihan Train Hall when it opened on January 1, 2021 added two escalators both running from the west down to the longer 5 platforms for tracks 7 through 16. There is a single escalator along the eastern end of the train hall down to Tracks 5 and 6. Along the eastern end of the train hall are elevators down to tracks 5 through 17, these all make an intermediate stop at the West End Concourse.
This description of Moynihan Train Hall is incomplete and will be finished when I have a chance to make it back to New York and experience it. -Jeremiah Cox, your webmaster, May 2021
Photos 1: December 28, 2010; 2-5: August 16, 2012; 6-12: August 16, 2015; 13-53: October 8, 2018
