Urban Geography Team Project on Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal (Penn Station Slides authored by Sylvia Martin).

1. 1962
PENNSYLVANIA STATION
Featuring an interview
with an LIRR commuter
2012

2. Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station, aka Penn Station, is the transportation hub for three rail
systems; Amtrak, NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad. You can also access two
different subway lines; IRT and IND found at opposite ends of Penn Station. Each
station has its own look and feel which varies from the others.
Amtrak runs along the Northeast Corridor from
Washington to Boston, mirroring Interstate 95
How do you get to work in the morning?
„‟I take the LIRR and I take the Path train. “
How do you see traveling the LIRR?
“It‟s very convenient and fast, it‟s more comfortable than the subway. “

3. Sensation
The graceful Choreography of Penn Station, in particular the
Long Island railroad was fascinating. During a 20 minute
recorded observation, not one person collided with anyone.
There were people with bags, people with children, people with
bags and children, people sans bags, a guy bouncing a
basketball and a guy with a tuba and all managed to avoid a
collision. This was a true wonder given that many of them were
either running to a train or being passed by someone running,
one guy accomplished his running in a hop, jump, shift, jump
again kind of way.
What a sight to see!
What senses get stimulated on your commute?
“I would say my sense of hearing; somehow your ears become a little more acute to all the
different noises going on, so what people are talking about, what they‟re doing, you know, who‟s
on the phone, the conversations going on even though you‟re not trying to listen to it, you kind of
focus a lot on what people are doing. “
If there were a sudden change in the sound, would you be more alert?
“Yes, you get used to the sound of the trains themselves and sometimes when something
doesn‟t sound the same; either the hum of the air conditioner or the sound of the wheels, or the
little screeches and stuff like that, sometimes something doesn‟t sound right because it‟s louder
or it‟s an odd rhythm. You kind of notice and wonder „what‟s wrong with this train?‟”

4. Scale
Scale in Penn Station can be looked at on several different levels; the size of the station
(originally 8 acres) number of rails systems under one roof (3), number of tracks (21),
number of people that come through the station daily (600,000), and even how much
space someone takes on the train.
How does it feel spatially?
“Over the years, I‟m finding the railroad to be a lot more crowded and therefore it‟s lost a little bit of its
coziness, almost what people used to think of as a little exclusivity, being on the railroad versus being
on the train. Now it‟s almost as crowded as the subway, sometimes you have to stand the whole way
which is pretty annoying considering the price you pay.”
Can you estimate how many people?
“I don‟t take the early early trains because they are more crowded, but I would say hundreds.
Generally the train is full, you gotta make sure you put yourself in a spot where you‟re gonna be near
the door when it opens so you can get a seat.”

5. Technology
There are many self service
kiosks all over Penn Station, this
is a very convenient way to
purchase your ticket without
waiting on long lines.
Free iPhone App called „ontime‟ for the LIRR
How has your trip changed with Technology
advancements?
“It gives you more distractions, more things to
do, it makes the trip feel quicker, so if I can get
on my iPad, let‟s say, and I start reading the
news , or I can read work email, respond to
emails, next thing you know I‟m at Penn Station
so the time goes by quicker.”
There is even a company, Coo Coo, that you can text
your to and from locations and you will receive a
response with departure and arrival times.

6. Social Reproduction
Clever passengers who supplement their sleep while they commute, are able to do so by
exposing their ticket for the conductor and not be disturbed. This is usually socially
reproduced by nearby passengers who, in order to avoid an unpleasant encounter with
the sleeping passenger, begin to do the same, ah the bliss.
How long have you been taking the LIRR?
“It‟s about 15 years, 15/16 years.”
Have you seen any major changes in the way its structured?
“Actually no, considering that the cost of the railroad has gotten higher just about every year, I
don‟t really see what I‟m getting for the extra money.”
Do you ever happen to go by the NJ Transit area, have you seen how that looks?
“Actually no, I don‟t really go by there. I don‟t really venture that much.”
Another social reproduction, as commuters focus
on going from point A to point B, is forgetting to
„stop and smell the roses‟ or in the case of NJ
Transit, take in the sun beams that bathe the
beautiful mosaics at the 7th avenue and 31st Street
exit.

7. Nature
Do you encounter nature on your commute?
“Yeah, actually, the station where I am has a lot of trees and a lot of stuff nearby there, you can see
all the birds and sometimes you‟re standing at the station waiting and you‟re kind of just…let‟s call it,
bird watching because you‟re kind of watching them picking up stuff to build nests, or flying back and
forth chasing each other, the little mating dances, and little rituals.”

8. Representation
What do you think the proper etiquette should
be on the train, what are your pet peeves?
“People talking on the phone pretty loud, we don‟t
need to hear your personal conversations. Also,
some people get on the train and feel they own the
space and they‟ll sit on one seat, put their bag on
another and put their feet on a third. I guess they
don‟t want people next to them, they do it on
purpose. If someone is standing, they may not ask
to sit depending on their personality, other people
just say excuse me.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Station_(New_York_City)
http://transportationnation.org/2012/08/07/video-how-to-survive-and-occasionally-thrive-in-
new-york-penn-station-the-continents-busiest-train-hub/
Interview with Addison Augustin of AXA Equitable