Penn Station signs stop, urinals gush
Jon Morgan, a former Sun colleague who occasionally acts as one of my spies on the MARC system, reports the following deficiencies in his inspection of Penn Station this morning:
Penn Station’s big board listing arrivals and departures was taken down some months ago as part of the renovations of the station, and a new one put up maybe a month or so. But it has never been turned on or operated. There are small signs saying it’s being tested. But how much testing does a board like that need? Meanwhile, the mens room was threatening to create a cholera epidemic this morning (with) all three urinals overflowing at the same time. It’s a great way to start the day.
To which, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell replied:
1. The new board is in a testing phase and should be fully operational the first week of April. (It)
is in test mode to make sure all components are working correctly and all personnel responsible for its use are properly trained. There is a temporary board at the Information Booth that shows all arrival and departure information.
2. BAL Penn Station employees are responsible for cleaning the restroom and there are plans for them to be power washed in the next week or two. There are also talks for a project to completely rehab the rest rooms but no timeline on that yet.
So there you have it. What else is wrong at Penn Station (not counting late MARC trains)?
Comments
The big board of arrivals and departures at the entrance to Union Station in DC has also been off for months.
Posted by: Marc Rider | March 17, 2010 5:56 PM
I pass through Penn Station almost every day. I've seen the big board working every once in a while (same with the monitors by what would be Gate A). They'll be on for a few minutes here and there, then they'll go out and stay out the remainder of the day. While they're on, they seem to be working well. Makes me wonder what else they need to test.
Posted by: Justin..... | March 18, 2010 1:18 AM
Jon's observation is not true... The new sign in Penn Station has been operational on a half dozen or so occasions in the last few weeks. I've seen it as I've embarked in the morning and disembarked at night. The Amtrak spokesperson seems to be right -- they really are testing it.
Posted by: andrew | March 18, 2010 9:48 AM
Andrew's right on the sign, Jon is right on the bathrooms.
Biggest problem I've had (with an empty bladder) at Penn Station is leaking platform roofs which know how to dump water right on the stairs in large torrents after the snow.
It's really not a bad station.
Posted by: Fritz | March 18, 2010 10:25 AM
But will the sign still make the flap-flap-flap noise, so you know to look up st see what's changed?
Posted by: Jay Gould | March 18, 2010 12:57 PM