Amtrak derailment

Commuter gather under a large train departure board in the center of the main concourse in New York's Penn Station. The board will be replaced by a network of video screens throughout the concourse. (John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

(John Munson)

The big board that commuters gather under at New York's Penn Station to find out what track their train is leaving from is fading into history starting Monday.

Amtrak crews will start disassembling the iconic 10-foot-high train departure board in the center of Penn Station's main concourse on Monday night, which will be replaced by a network of video displays.

The demolition of the big board is the last work to be done in the installation of Amtrak's Passenger Information Display System, which was activated last October 2016.

Nearly 40 video displays in strategic locations, including two at both ends of the concourse, will replace the departure board, which Amtrak officials said is being done to relieve pedestrian congestion and crowding in the center of the waiting area, especially during peak commuting hours.



Group forms to finance Gateway Project



Removing the boards will mean the end of a commuting ritual where riders gather under the board, wait for the track number of departing trains to be posted, followed by dash of riders to get a seat. The board also tells riders whether their train is on time, and its destination.



The new LCD video displays will give commuters the same information as the large board, which Amtrak officials said are easier to read and are synchronized with audio and other video messages in the station. NJ Transit installed similar easier to read video monitors in its Seventh Avenue concourse at Penn Station in May 2013.

Penn Station handles 1,200 trains and 665,000 people daily, more than the three metro area airports combined.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

