Originally Posted by bennos

Your LIRR train will arrive on any track between 13 and 21, you have no control over this and you won't know which track you're arriving on until you get there. Tracks 17-21 do not have a direct connection to Moynihan Train Hall, and tend to be the most common tracks used for LIRR arrivals. All tracks (well, 5-21) connect to the West End Concourse (also referred to as the "Lower Level" in Moynihan), from which you can take an escalator up to Moynihan.

Since you mentioned bags in your later post, all tracks have elevators, some tracks have escalators which may or may not be operating in the direction you need them to be. Most access to the West End Concourse is via stairs. If you come in on 17-21, you probably want to be at the middle of the LIRR train for the elevator or maybe escalator to the main LIRR Concourse. If you come in on 13-16, you can exit towards the front of the LIRR train for an escalator directly up to Moynihan.

If you end up on the LIRR concourse, follow the signs for the 8th Ave Subway (A/C/E) but do not actually get on the subway. Follow the corridor past the turnstiles, you will eventually pass a small LIRR waiting room adjacent to a pair of escalators. These escalators will take you up to Moynihan.

Many of the food options in Penn (LIRR Concourse) have not yet reopened (the concourse has been under renovation). There are food options in the old NJ Transit/Amtrak Concourse, but the Moynihan Food Hall options are probably better. It does get busy during lunch hours due to workers from adjacent offices. Also, if you collect Amtrak points redeeming them for access to the Metropolitan Lounge is an excellent value, and the Lounge is probably the nicest in the Amtrak system.