Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thanks for the tips everyone. I don't see why Penn doesn't change the process - have people line up at the proper track like they do at Union Station. Get there early to get a good spot in line. Penn is chaos.

Urban legend! I ride Antrak alllllllll the time and you don't need to do this.

this comment makes no sense. what is the urban legend here?

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thanks for the tips everyone. I don't see why Penn doesn't change the process - have people line up at the proper track like they do at Union Station. Get there early to get a good spot in line. Penn is chaos.

Urban legend! I ride Antrak alllllllll the time and you don't need to do this.

Anonymous wrote:How do you go about getting a red cap? I'll be at Penn Station soon with kids, and I'd love to avoid the typical boarding chaos. I don't mind it so much when I am traveling alone, but it's truly awful with luggage and kids in tow.

Just go to the Amtrak area and ask at the ticket counter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't have to wait in line and board with the crowd. When the track is announced, go immediately downstairs and board that way. You beat the upstairs line.

What does this mean? You can board a train at more than one level? I have never been there and cannot picture this.

Pen station has two levels. You can get to Amtrak tracks from both because nj transit and lirr use them too. You must not go there often. You can get to these lower tracks from the stairs or escalator under the big board in the Amtrak section or by zig zagging your way in the bowels of the station from the LIRR side.

Penn Station along with Port Authority (bus terminal) is the innermost circle of hell. Its third world.

I can kind of see why the tracks aren't announced until fairly late because the platforms are not all that wide.

But Penn Station is a pit. Yuck.
Union Station is slightly better, but the waiting experience is still unpleasant and annoying. It makes airplane boarding look civilized.