As far as the track numbering scheme goes, yes all of GCT including the new deep platforms follow it. It was originally thought that the LIRR tracks would be 301-304 and 401-404 because there is actually a track 200 on the MNRR lower level which kind of throws off the logic, but was changed to 201-204 and 301-304.

The attitude of the LIRR/MNRR towards non-regular commuters is fundamentally hostile. They don't consider them real customers if they even manage to admit they exist at all.

GCT handles large crowds better than Penn due to its volume and the sheer number of tracks/platforms available for use. The vertical circulation is better though the abysmal wayfinding cuts into that advantage for people who are not familiar with the building. As to why it's not improved see above.

Well to be fair it is important to remember that both Penn, and yes to a less extent Grand Central but still so, were originally constructed and set up to serve a much higher percentage of longer distance train travel. They are legacy facilities. Obviously if you were building a 21st century facility that was primarily designed to be high frequency, high volume commuter based transit interchanges they would look quite a bit different. They're not the only global city stations that face this reality, its just that other alpha cities have built out ground-up rapid regional rail systems that do not terminate in but service legacy long distance stations with adjacent subterranean hubs as well as other centrally located primary hubs that shift commuter patterns i.e. Paris.

I hope that when the Hudson Tunnel Project reaches the "repair the old tunnels" phase they can take that opportunity to double track the Empire Service Tunnel too: https://i.imgur.com/21TaeHC.jpg

It would also help a lot with the Penn Access Project Phase 2 on the Hudson Line.

^ If that's to be done, which it should, it needs to be done before any additional Hudson Yards development makes it more difficult and more expensive. Of course it would have been so much more advantageous to have built it as double track from the beginning, but at the time Penn Access for Metro-North over the West Side Line wasn't even on the radar (incredibly). Plus, you know... Amtrak.

Should make it a pre-requisite for Hudson Yards Phase 2 development.

one step forward with gateway, two steps back with bx penn access —



Dispute between MTA, Amtrak could delay Penn Access megaproject bringing Metro-North to west side

By Ben Brachfeld


A withering dispute between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Amtrak could lead to delays in the completion of the Penn Access megaproject bringing Metro-North trains to Penn Station, MTA bigwigs charged Monday.

The $2.8 billion project broke ground last month with the start of construction on four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx, enabling residents of the borough’s eastern shore to commute into Manhattan’s west side and, along with the Long Island Rail Road’s new terminal at Grand Central Terminal, creating a more integrated regional rail network in the New York metropolitan area. Work on the project is scheduled for completion by 2027.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/dispute...s-megaproject/

What Should a New Penn Station Look Like?

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/.../v1/800x-1.jpg

My favorite proposal is to rebuild the original Penn station with new modern amenities like wider platforms and escalators.

Link to article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...tion-s-revival

Link to ReThink proposal: https://www.rethinkpennstationnyc.org/

MTA/NYCT brass ride the opwn gangway R211T

I can only hope their enthusiasm lights the fire to dramatically restructure the R211 procurement to have the vast majority of the contract be open gangway... Like the rest of the world.

The rest of the world doesn't have bums and crazy people using the train as a homeless shelter. One of the things that makes a lot of trains still ridable is the fact that the smell and the screaming lunatics can usually be isolated in their own car.

die Tasche

https://media.cdr.nl/THUMB/2018/0405...la-rennt-2.jpg
___

to add to that the bums and crazy people dont seem to like each other so they spread out into their own car. ugh.

but seriously, i haven’t had many problems at all lately day or night on the rails.

the uptick in cop presence at stations and on trains is very noticable, even in staten island — and as an added bonus its forcing people to pay for their rides now instead of the rampant jumping turnstyles at will.

gov addresses funding mta:



Hochul proposes payroll tax increase, casino revenue to save teetering MTA, but fare hikes still coming

By Ben Brachfeld
Posted on February 1, 2023


Governor Kathy Hochul proposed an increase in the state’s payroll tax to funnel much-needed money to the financially-teetering Metropolitan Transportation Authority and prevent painful service cuts, she announced in her executive budget presentation Wednesday, but straphangers can still expect to pay 5.5% more to ride the subway or bus this year.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/hochul-...-hikes-coming/

I really don't get the big deal with open gangway trains. It seems like such a minor thing to care about.

^ At the top of the list is that they increase capacity without an increase in train cars, service or infrastructure, which is actually a pretty big deal.

Are MTA's ridership numbers even going up?
The only packed trains I've encountered are only if there is a delay. It was a mess before that in 2018-2019 when trains were fully packed.
The open gangway trains will probably end up with less space for riders, mostly due to smell.

mta chair janno lieber can answer ridership & news for you:

https://www.amny.com/oped/op-ed-mta-recovery-pandemic/

i read the new r211’s will replace the A/C line trains by the end of 2023. tests are happening now, so expect to see them and ride them in the coming months.


edit — news video:

• Video Link

heed the old song — don’t sleep on the subway:


https://nypost.com/2023/02/08/sleepi...way-rat-video/

full lirr service at grand central madison starts feb 27:


https://www.amny.com/transit/full-li...mmence-feb-27/