Hopefully there's a future where we build train stations like this in places that aren't Midtown Manhattan
Yeah I was here the other day and I absolutely hate it. Soulless space that has dozens of security guards walking around yelling at people for sitting on the floor. I was waiting for a LIRR train (the only waiting hall is for ticketed Amtrak customers), and because there are 0 benches or seated areas in the entire building besides that Amtrak waiting area, I decided to sit on the floor (like I've done dozens of times before at Penn). Within seconds three security guards came over and said "you can't sit on the floor here." Ridiculous. The city is so determined to keep the homeless out that they've degraded service for everybody. Infuriating.
Plus it feels more like an empty airport hall than a train station. The glass is really nice, but the sleek white, lack of all shops and seating areas, etc makes it depressing. Do not recommend.
I've been meaning to go and take a look at the train hall, but the way you describe it it sounds a lot like the Oculus down by the WTC. Went there around the time it opened and the outer structure is impressive, but once you've walked around in the inside is just a big empty space with a bunch of shops in the periphery. An over designed mall pretty much.
It's exactly the same as the Oculus but even worse, because at least the Oculus has shops that are open.
Hopefully we can also have ones with benches for people who aren't ticketed passengers (and also actually solve the underlying issue with Penn, which is that the platforms suck)
Yeah honestly this makes the issue worse. Entering a LIRR train from that hall rather than Penn means you're walking down a giant, empty platform underground for a least a minute before you even see your train.
yeah that'll be awful on the peak nights of the year, or anytime there are last-minute cancellations. the lack of NJT signage is going to cause issues too
Well you just straight can't get to NJT through this new train hall. NJT is only through Penn, this train hall is for Amtrak and LIRR only. Which, yeah, is going to cause massive issues when the city resumes its normal programming in 2023 or whenever.
yeah, and putting up even one sign that says "NJT ACROSS THE STREET AT PENN STATION" would probably reduce the amount of yelling by confused Giants/Jets fans who need to get to Secaucus by at least 20%
Lmaoo of course they leave all that out of their segment. I'm just a dumb outsider who saw the video and though "neat train hall, let's see what the NYC folks actually think about it" and here we are lol
Yup, it's all shiny and no actual usability. But that's par for the course with these kind of projects—they're more for lining the pockets of the contractors than the actual commuters. We'd have been much better off spending the $1.6 billion we spent to build this mostly useless train hall and instead just improve/clean some subway stations, or hell even just install elevators in some more subway stations. Spend the money electrifying the non-electrified parts of Metro North past Croton-Harmon. Or even finally retire the R32s still being used on the subway (that are from 1964!!!!). Lots of things to spend money on that doesn't involve building a shiny new train station that doesn't solve any problem that currently exists.
We could get that 80% less polluting number up to like 95% with fully electrified rail...
Yeah, but think of the poor construction companies that need to eat! Surely a train station is more important.
Uhh that looks like an airport stripped of everything except for the escalators and signs. Where the fuck are you supposed to sit?
Also I uhh wouldn't exactly call this "ornate". There is virtually no ornament (except for the clock maybe?) Did they mean "looks nice"? If so then I mean kinda but not really
100% had the feel of an empty airport when I was there. And there is no public seating at all.
It looks so sterile too, I have a profound dislike of the sleek white aesthetic.
It's soulless for sure. It looks how neoliberal privatization of essential state services feels.
A hospital has a more vibrant atmosphere and aesthetic, they could've at least added a few sad plants here and there instead of leaving it as the bare-bones skeleton that it is.
