This is good advice. I'm a regular user of NJ transit out of Penn St. Your looking at taking the train in the heart of the evening rush which can be very confusing and crowded. The 8th Ave. side is more spacious. The entrance at 8th Ave & 31st street (Amtrak side) is lightly used and brings you down to the Amtrak area with access to all NJ transit trains. Most of the trains going to EWR are the North East Corridor trains which are heavily packed during rush hour. The other problem with Penn Station are the narrow stairways and escalators leading down the the track areas. When the boarding announcements come and the track number is displayed on the board, there's a mad rush of pax fighting to get to the trains. The 7th Ave side is particularly bad since there's usually a single escalator or stairway going to the track.

Another trick is to use the waiting area across 8th Ave & 31st at the old Farley Post Office. However, this will only service tracks 5-21, if your train is on 1-4 you can't use this entrance so a bit of a risk. Download the NJ Transit app to buy tickets with your mobile device. Much better than trying to use a ticketing machine during rush hour. As a safeguard activate your ticket before going down to the track as reception can be spotty on some tracks. Use this website on your mobile device browser --NJ Transit Departure Vision. It's the same content that is displayed on the NJ transit boarding screens in the station, use that instead of crowding around a screen with the rest of the pax. The webpage doesn't update automatically, you need to refresh it manually.

Generally 2 types of train cars on EWR bound trains, newer double decker cars with a bench seating area at the front and back of each car. If I were traveling with luggage, I'd use this seating area. Older cars are single level and many have a small area at the front and back with collapsible bench seats and floor space to keep your luggage. Generally seating is better towards the front of the train, closer to the locomotive. Most pax coming down from 7th ave side start boarding the train at the back, the train fills up and pax start walking up inside the train to find seats. Walking down the platform towards the front of the train will yield better results. As the train fills, expect pax to be standing in the vestibule between the train cars, partially blocking the entrances.

For the past year, NJ Transit has been experiencing more cancellations and delays, so plan accordingly. Delays of 10 minutes or more are common during rush hour. On an almost weekly basis seems there is some semi-major issue. During rush hour don't expect track announcements to be early. Very frequently the track is announced right before scheduled departure causing a huge rush to the train. Have a backup plan just in case there is a major delay. A few times a year, maybe more, seems to be some major problem, issue with the amtrak tunnel blocking all traffic in and out, Newark portal bridge is stuck and wont' close, etc.

When it's all running well, it is the quickest way in and out of NYC to the Jersey side but rush hour can be a little stressful.