Amtrak's Penn Station plan includes loads of public benches, a rarity in NYC
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Published Jun 26, 2026
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Courtesy Amtrak
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This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.
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Amtrak’s vision for the reconstructed Penn Station includes an increasingly rare luxury in New York City rail hubs: places to sit.
The architects behind the federally run overhaul of the train hall want long, wooden benches throughout its concourse. The plan features closed-off seating areas reserved for ticketed passengers, but also swaths of free, public seating for anyone passing through.
Luke Bridle, who is the managing architect on the project from the design firm HOK, said in an interview that the benches will do more than help commuters take a load off — they're designed to improve pedestrian flow for the 600,000 commuters who pass through Penn Station every weekday.
“We’re viewing it not so much as an amenity but as a piece of important infrastructure as well,” Bridle said. “Seating really helps shape how people feel in Penn Station, whether they’re stressful, whether it’s chaotic, whether they’re calm or whether it’s manageable.”
Seats have become something of a novelty in New York City’s major transportation hubs. Places to rest in public keep disappearing as part of a growing trend of hostile architecture meant to discourage people — many of them homeless — from loitering or sleeping.
But that comes at the cost of commuters’ comfort.
When New York state opened Moynihan Train Hall across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station in 2021, commuters immediately noted the lack of seating in the building’s main concourse. The space has areas with seats reserved for ticketed Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road passengers — but many of them often sit on the floor next to their bags, waiting for the train.
At Grand Central Madison, the subterranean LIRR extension on the East Side that opened in 2023, the MTA added a select number of benches with a 90-minute time limit. The MTA has also piloted waist-height leaning benches on some subway stations.
Currently, Penn Station commuters on all three railroads typically crowd around large track information screens or sit on stairs, blocking the way for others trying to get through.
The lack of seating in New York City made renderings of Amtrak’s proposed Penn Station redesign stick out.
Courtesy Amtrak
Renderings show commuters entering from Eighth Avenue can take escalators or stairs to the main floor, where rows of wooden benches wrap around a second set of escalators to the train platforms. There will also be public benches throughout the revamped station, including near retail areas in the center of the complex. The design also includes a set of long bars, where commuters can grab a stool for the price of a drink.
Bridle said the benches are a nod to the ones in the original Beaux Arts Penn Station that was torn down in the 1960s.
“The choice of wood here is something that’s tactile, but it’s also comfortable to sit on throughout the year,” he said. “Not having hard edges, making sure they’re smooth and comfortable to sit on was something that was important.”
Still, Bridle said the benches featured armrests to “discourage sleeping.” He said they should be prioritized for elderly riders, parents with children and others who need a break from the rat race.
It’s a plan that could offer comfort to train riders at Penn. Now the federal government just needs to figure out how to fund it.
NYC transportation news this week
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Late-night riders after the Knicks win. After the Knicks won the NBA Finals this month, millions of people flooded the streets — and public transportation. On Monday, NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said the crowds sent overnight ridership “through the roof.” During an MTA committee hearing, Crichlow said that from midnight to 5 a.m. following the championship win, the system clocked about 329,000 riders — about 18% more than the 268,000 it typically sees during the same window after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Crichlow also credited transit workers with keeping people moving throughout the celebrations, including last week’s ticker-tape parade. He also said he expected to see more of a bump in ridership as World Cup matches continue in the region.
Ongoing disputes between the MTA and Amtrak. Amtrak senior adviser Andy Byford this week wrote a letter to MTA Chair Janno Lieber, asking the agency to sign on as a “full partner” in the federal government’s reconstruction of Penn Station. Lieber responded by dismissing the offer, calling the federal government’s planning process " bizarre.” He said he wanted to “protect the interests of thousands of MTA riders at Penn Station. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who controls the MTA and appointed Lieber, chimed in a day later and urged both sides to work collaboratively to rebuild the train hub.
Teen sentenced for setting fire to sleeping man on subway. A 19-year-old man was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for setting a man on fire while riding the subway last December.
Lawmakers look to ban horse carriages after teen’s death. City lawmakers are pushing to ban horse carriages after a teenage tourist died after falling out of a runaway carriage in Central Park this month.
Curious Commuter
Have a question for us? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!
Question from Matt in Queens
Why do subway conductors point at the platform ceiling when trains stop in stations?
Answer
The subway conductors aren’t pointing to the heavens. They’re executing a crucial, long-standing safety protocol that makes sure their train stops in the right location. Subway conductors, who work in the middle of trains and operate the doors, poke their head out the cab window when they stop at a station. They’re required to point their finger at a zebra-striped bar fixed near the ceiling, which tells them the train’s operator stopped in the right place.
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Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email rkhalifeh@nypublicradio.org
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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