1342798292[/url]' post='381527']
Texas Sunset said:
1342796984[/url]' post='381516']
AutoTrDvr said:
1342792653[/url]' post='381506']For NJ Transit and Amtrak, track numbers for originating/arriving trains are usually not posted/announced until 10 minutes prior to departure/arrival.
In addition to the lack of a quality map this brief last-minute information window is a critical flaw in how what's left of New York's Penn Station is run today, at least from the perspective of uninitiated passengers
departing NYP. I've never felt as iffy about missing my next train as I was at NYP, and that includes train trips in countries that don't speak English. Kind of absurd in my view, but I guess being ugly and confusing is just part of the "charm" of NYP to some folks. :lol:
Actually, I don't recall "arriving" tracks ever being posted. They may be "announced" on occasion by the station announcer, but I think the few "thru" trains (NEC/Acela) are posted as "departures." And all NJ Transit trains are "departures." Yeah, the 10 minute thing was uggggggly, especially during rush hours. As soon as the track appeared on the monitors, you'd see this swarm toward the stairwells.I learned to figure out where the NJ Transit trains were being staged, simply by visiting each platform and checking the train in advance. Most were staged on tracks 1-4. Sometimes track 13. On odd occasions, they mingled with the Amtrak trains on 5-11. You go down the stairwell, and you look for the electronic sign on the train, that indicated the route. If you find your train, you stand in front of the doors until they open, usually before the track is posted/announced. I think I got to within 80% accuracy/success with this method. Every now and then, they'd skunk you by putting that one train on track 13 when you were waiting near 1-4. :angry:
It's funny. I do pass through NYP at least twice a year now, and more often on Christmas Day. I see all the "newbies" and tourists struggling to get through their experience. It's nice to "pay it forward" and help them out. I once had a guy ask me (at 6pm on Christmas Day), "Why don't they have seats in the mezzanine?" :lol: :wacko: :lol: :giggle: :lol:
Usually due to my coming right off the NYC Subway "A" train. I assume the Amtrak "arrival" monitors did not post NJT arrivals as well. I only recall the mezz. monitors to be "departure" oriented.
