The New Penn Station Is Amtrak's Big Marketing Opportunity

In 1963, when the Pennsylvania Railroad took a wrecking ball to its opulent Manhattan train station—a Beaux-Arts colossus of pink granite modeled off the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome—Yale architecture professor Vincent Scully lamented the loss with words that have since become famous. “Through Pennsylvania Station one entered the city like a god,” Scully wrote. “One scuttles in now like a rat.” Scully was referring to the subterranean warren of passageways that became the “station” once everything above the sidewalk disappeared to make way for Madison Square Garden, the athletic arena that has stood atop Penn's old foundations since 1968. Though all 21 original train tracks remained in service, the 650,000 people who used the station each day were left to scuttle through a dingy subterranean labyrinth of fast-food stands, piled-up suitcases and fetid restrooms. Then, on the first day of 2021, five decades of scuttling abruptly came to an end. On Jan. 1 at 5:00 a.m., security guards unlocked the doors of the new Moynihan Train Hall, a soaring atrium that will serve as Amtrak’s new main concourse. Built within the shell of the old James A. Farley Post Office building just to the west of the original Penn Station's footprint, the 255,000-square-foot hall gives Amtrak’s New York passengers something they haven’t had for generations: light, air and a sense of occasion. It's no coincidence that the hall’s parabolic glass ceilings soaring 92 feet above a floor of Tennessee marble evoke the original Penn Station designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1910. The $1.6 billion project, years in the making, was intended to restore a measure of grandeur lost. As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in 2017: “This will be an entrance befitting New York.” Opened to great acclaim in 1910, the original Pennsylvania Station stood only until 1963. But as Amtrak president Stephen Gardner gave a private tour to this reporter last week, it was clear that the new train hall will be something else: a much-needed marketing boost for Amtrak. “This really allows us to position rail as a modern mode [of travel] for the future and allows us to really give a statement about what passenger rail can be in the United States,” Gardner said, showing off the new waiting area reserved for ticketed passengers, where the amenities include cushioned benches and dedicated restrooms. “We’re in Amtrak's most important station in terms of passenger volume,” he continued. “Having a facility here that reflects its importance in the network was a longstanding dream.” Three decades to build a room It was a 30-year dream, to be exact. Back in 1990, Amtrak admitted publicly that its existing New York station was woefully inadequate. Amtrak’s long-distance passengers found themselves dumped into the crush of commuters stampeding for the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit, both of which shared the facility. With the exception of a few banks of well-worn pleather seats, there was no place to wait for a train. Passengers shared public restrooms with a platoon of homeless. “Refreshments” didn’t rise much above a greasy hot dog. Revenues from the digital advertising boards (far l.) will go to Vernado, not Amtrak. Conditions like these worked against the customer service and brand image that the perennially underfunded Amtrak struggled to provide aboard its trains. “The experience that you could have on the train was besmirched by the experience you would have at Penn Station,” Gardner said. In 1991, Amtrak approached the U.S. Post Office with an eye toward possibly taking over part of its Farley building next door—a granite behemoth, largely unused, that sat directly above the railroad tracks. The idea of building a new Penn Station inside Farley soon won a powerful champion, New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Relocating Penn Station into a historically significant building whose architecture mirrored the long-demolished original station was, the senator said, a rare opportunity. “You don’t get a second chance like this often,” Moynihan said in 1993. “We must do it.” But doing it would take another 27 years. Moynihan died in 2003, and budget woes and congressional red tape delayed the proposal all the way until 2017, when Gov. Cuomo threw his political weight behind getting the deal done. Under its terms, the cost of the redevelopment project would be shouldered by a combination of public and private funds. Two huge Manhattan developers, Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies, contributed $630 million in exchange for a 99-year lease and rights to the building’s commercial spaces. Amtrak’s $420 million entitles it to 100,000 square feet of choice space, which it’s using for a waiting area, ticket office, and a sprawling expanse on the mezzanine level with commanding views of the concourse below. The new train hall rises within the shell of the James A. Farley Post Office, completed in 1912. A lot of branding in a nice view That expanse now houses Amtrak’s Metropolitan Lounge for its first-class passengers. Fitted with velvet wingback chairs, hardwood tables with USB ports, plus a buffet and cocktail bar, the space is a luxurious aerie that Gardner believes will help give Amtrak the panache it’s been lacking for too long in New York. “This is an important part of the program,” he said, standing on the lounge’s balcony 20 feet over the concourse floor. “This special area is a real difference from [the old] Penn. You’ll be able to come here, get a glass of wine, have a snack and watch the world go by.” And perhaps do some shopping, too. Once Vornado finishes leasing its 120,000 square feet of concourse space to upscale shops and restaurants, the big idea is to turn the Moynihan Train Hall into a destination spot, even for those who aren’t catching trains. It’s a plan whose odds are bettered considerably by Facebook, which recently signed a lease for all 730,000 square feet of office space in the Farley building’s upper floors. If all works according to plan, the new Penn Station will become a vibrant retail and social hub for affluent professionals. That will assist with Amtrak’s marketing efforts, too. Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounge pampers passengers with velvet chairs, USB ports and a wet bar. Dine and drink with Amtrak Gardner also has high hopes for the banquet space on the floor above, which will allow Amtrak to enter the meetings and conventions business. Attendees will be able to step off an Amtrak train, grab a meal, and attend a business meeting all within the same building. “To have that event space allows us to market that and have connectivity between the event, the amenities of the train hall and the transportation,” he said. On opening day, Moynihan Train Hall buzzed with hundreds of curious New Yorkers, most of whom were too young to have any memories of the original Penn Station. But few are the travelers who haven’t at least seen photos of the long-vanished place and are moved by a certain wistfulness as they gaze at the huge iron trusses carrying a lattice of glass above. “We’re in this big generational shift,” he said. “We see younger travel consumers are really interested in rail, but not having a lot of familiarity. So we need to think about lowering the barriers of entry to that experience. And this [new station] gives us that path. It gives us a way to introduce people to the service that feels welcoming, interesting, exciting and comforting."

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New York's New Penn Station Is the Marketing Opportunity Amtrak Has Been Dreaming Of

Moynihan Train Hall could help the railroad position itself as a premium travel option

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara