NYP.....

[AlanB]

No other station is as busy as NYP. Nearly 300,000 LIRR riders in and out each day, something like 190,000 NJT riders in and out, and some 60,000 Amtrak riders. Before even factoring in the subways, stores, and lunch traffic; you've got more than 250,000 people moving through the station each day.

New York Penn Station handles 600,000 passengers a day. Amtrak's share of that is under 25,000 per day, or less than 5%. That is not a slap at Amtrak but evidence of how huge the two commuter services are. Grand Central is a distant second in New York with 140,000 passengers a day. Considering how those 600,000 passengers are weighed toward peak hours, the movement of people and trains at NYP is amazing.

Bill,

I concede Amtrak's ridership numbers, I'm not sure where I got that from, I remember hearing that number in the past. But looking at the totals for the station for the year, I agree 60,000 is not possible.

However, 600,000 is also not possible. The LIRR's total ridership system wide only averages 340,000 rides per day. And of course not everyone who boards a LIRR goes to Penn Station, many head to Brooklyn, Jamaica, or even Hunter's Point. Additionally of course there are some who ride only on Long Island. So again, the LIRR puts something less than 300,000 in and out of Penn per day. Since most people make a round trip, that actually represents about 150,000 people.

In order to hit 600,000 NJT would have to move even more people than the LIRR and that isn't happening. Interestingly NJT doesn't provide APTA with the average weekday ridreship, unlike the MTA which does. However, the LIRR's total ridership for the second quarter of this year was a little over 24.1 million rides taken. NJT's total ridership for the same period was a little over 18.6 million. So there is no way that NJT is moving more people into Penn than the LIRR.

 

[Eric S]

No other station is as busy as NYP. Nearly 300,000 LIRR riders in and out each day, something like 190,000 NJT riders in and out, and some 60,000 Amtrak riders. Before even factoring in the subways, stores, and lunch traffic; you've got more than 250,000 people moving through the station each day.

New York Penn Station handles 600,000 passengers a day. Amtrak's share of that is under 25,000 per day, or less than 5%. That is not a slap at Amtrak but evidence of how huge the two commuter services are. Grand Central is a distant second in New York with 140,000 passengers a day. Considering how those 600,000 passengers are weighed toward peak hours, the movement of people and trains at NYP is amazing.

Bill,

I concede Amtrak's ridership numbers, I'm not sure where I got that from, I remember hearing that number in the past. But looking at the totals for the station for the year, I agree 60,000 is not possible.

However, 600,000 is also not possible. The LIRR's total ridership system wide only averages 340,000 rides per day. And of course not everyone who boards a LIRR goes to Penn Station, many head to Brooklyn, Jamaica, or even Hunter's Point. Additionally of course there are some who ride only on Long Island. So again, the LIRR puts something less than 300,000 in and out of Penn per day. Since most people make a round trip, that actually represents about 150,000 people.

In order to hit 600,000 NJT would have to move even more people than the LIRR and that isn't happening. Interestingly NJT doesn't provide APTA with the average weekday ridreship, unlike the MTA which does. However, the LIRR's total ridership for the second quarter of this year was a little over 24.1 million rides taken. NJT's total ridership for the same period was a little over 18.6 million. So there is no way that NJT is moving more people into Penn than the LIRR.

Could the 600,000 number include all entries to the station complex, whether delivered by or heading to Amtrak, LIRR, NJT, or subway?

 

[Guest]

That's about like having a "Woodstock" every day.

But when in NYP, I could do without rekindling the memory of all that mud. :wub:

 

[NETrainfan]

What is the status of the future plans of NYP and the Moynihan station(s) and the Farley Building?

 

[PRR 60]

Bill,

I concede Amtrak's ridership numbers, I'm not sure where I got that from, I remember hearing that number in the past. But looking at the totals for the station for the year, I agree 60,000 is not possible.

However, 600,000 is also not possible. The LIRR's total ridership system wide only averages 340,000 rides per day. And of course not everyone who boards a LIRR goes to Penn Station, many head to Brooklyn, Jamaica, or even Hunter's Point. Additionally of course there are some who ride only on Long Island. So again, the LIRR puts something less than 300,000 in and out of Penn per day. Since most people make a round trip, that actually represents about 150,000 people.

In order to hit 600,000 NJT would have to move even more people than the LIRR and that isn't happening. Interestingly NJT doesn't provide APTA with the average weekday ridreship, unlike the MTA which does. However, the LIRR's total ridership for the second quarter of this year was a little over 24.1 million rides taken. NJT's total ridership for the same period was a little over 18.6 million. So there is no way that NJT is moving more people into Penn than the LIRR.

I'm betting the often-quoted figure of 600,000 daily passengers at Penn includes the subways.

 

[Pastor Dave]

When I travel, my main points of departure are NYP, PHL, TRE or Lorton. I figure that NYP, TRE, and Lorton provide me with a place to get on a train. PHL, on the other hand, is a place of wonderful architecture and a terrific place to just hang out and people watch. I've never felt in danger at NYP and it has served its utilitarian purpose for my needs.

 

[afigg]

I'm betting the often-quoted figure of 600,000 daily passengers at Penn includes the subways.

From the numbers I've seen, yes. According to the Jan 2010 article on Penn Station in Trains magazine (good article BTW), there are 405,000 daily weekday (heavy) rail passengers at NYP which break down as around: 225,000 LIRR, 150,000 NJT, and 30,000 Amtrak. These numbers are probably from FY09. The 600,000 passengers would include those taking the 2 subway lines.

A buzz word for transportation in the current era is intermodal stations. NYP, with Amtrak, LIRR, NJT, two MTA subway lines, and Megabus operating from the street outside, probably qualifies as the biggest intermodal station in the US.