Originally Posted by
AndyPatterson
But, with seat reservations on Acela, there is no longer a need to "rush" to be at the head of the line to board the train at NYP, right?! Indeed, given that overhead space in Acela is never (at least not that I've seen) an issue, there's no problem with boarding near the end, avoiding the clusterf* that is Amtrak boarding, and taking your reserved seat just before the doors close.
True for Acela, but not for other routes. My favorite "hack" in the old Penn station (even without Acela Club access) was to wait for the track announcement, ignore the mass of people heading to the gate, and calmly walk down a level to board from the LIRR level long before nearly everyone else. I have not yet figured out a similar approach for avoiding lines at Moynihan. Fortunately it has not been an issue yet as loads are pretty low. But open to any suggestions if somebody gets a better idea for Moynihan.