During Construction, Starting June 17, Customers to Experience Changes to Ticket Booths + Train Information Board

Current Entrance to Remain Open: LIRR Launching Customer Awareness Campaign to Keep Navigation Seamless; Encourages Use of West End Concourse Near 8th Avenue, eTix, and MYmta Apps For Service Info

Construction on Overall "East End Gateway" Project to Be Completed in 2020

Long Island Rail Road officials today announced the upcoming start of construction on a new Penn Station entrance at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue beginning June 17, which will bring much needed improved access, while LIRR's concourse will get wider corridors, natural light, and improved safety to the underground station.

To help accomplish this important work, Penn Station customers will notice several changes to the existing LIRR concourse, in the area nearer to Seventh Avenue, including: six ticket windows that will close, four ticket machines that will be moved, and the removal of the alphabetical departure board above the ticketing and Customer Service offices.

While pedestrian access from the 34th Street and Seventh Avenue entrance will still be available to the concourse level, customers are reminded they can also use the West End Concourse entrance at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, that was built and opened in 2017, to await and access trains.

During this time, the LIRR encourages customers to purchase tickets via the eTix app, as the easiest way to buy train tickets for your trip and avoid lines. For train departure times available right on your mobile device, customers can download the MYmta or LIRR TrainTime apps, or visit MyLIRR.org for track information. LIRR station ambassadors will be available throughout the corridor to help customers navigate, if needed.

Early phases of the work will not impact the LIRR's customer waiting room or bathrooms.

"LIRR customers not only deserve reliable train service, they deserve train stations that feel comfortable, spacious, and meet their modern needs," LIRR President Phil Eng said. "This new entrance, coupled with the Moynihan Train Hall, will undoubtedly help transform the customer experience at Penn Station, which is long overdue. We thank our customers for their patience and adaptability as this important work gets underway."

Since the current Penn Station's opening, pedestrian traffic has more than tripled from 200,000 to 650,000 passengers daily, with 234,000 people using the LIRR via Penn Station every day. In addition, 115,000 people use the station each day solely to enter or leave the A/C/E and 1/2/3 subways or to patronize the on-site retail.

The new entrance will greatly ease pedestrian congestion from street level to the concourse by connecting passengers directly to the LIRR Main Concourse from 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue with three escalators, a stairway and an elevator. The LIRR 33rd Street Concourse will be widened from its current 30 feet to 57 feet to allow easier access to trains and reduce potentially dangerous crowding. The project will also increase the ceiling height to 18 feet across the entire concourse, eliminating the 7- and 8-foot high areas that have, for decades, made the station experience feel cramped and less spacious. Lighting will be improved and more intuitive wayfinding will be provided to passengers. LIRR customers will also have new direct sight lines to track level and there will be additional retail and dining options in the concourse as well.

Last month, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the final design renderings for the new entrance, which will help eliminate pedestrian congestion by doubling customer access and egressing capacity to the LIRR level when it is completed in 2020. Across the street at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, the new Moynihan Train Hall continues to undergo its own transformation, which will turn Penn Station into a world-class transportation hub for LIRR customers by the end of 2020.

At Moynihan, customers will be able to access the nine platforms and 17 tracks by way of 11 new platform escalators and seven elevators. The Train Hall will create direct access to the train station from 9th Avenue for the first time, bringing unparalleled regional transportation options within convenient reach of the booming Hudson Yards and Far West Side areas.

The new entrance, along with Moynihan Train Hall, are part of a more than $6.6 billion state investment to completely transform the LIRR and the way the region travels on the railroad through New York City, and Nassau and Suffolk counties. For more information on the more than 100+ projects slated to renew LIRR experience, please visit aModernLI.com.