Newark - Penn Station

Do not arrive to Penn Station Newark after midnight. They start closing all exits at midnight. And treat people like cattle having to find the one exit out of the entire station, Not the way to treat customers in a major city and station.

I just experienced the most helpful Amtrak station representative of perhaps any train service. Got me on an early train. New ticket with no fee. It's a good day!

Busy train station, without any architecture to view (like in Philadelphia or DC). It's convenient with parallel access to Amtrak & PATH trains so you can easily get to Jersey City or WTC in Manhattan. Unfortunately, it has a lot of homeless so bathrooms & public areas are overused.
The main station is underground, across the tracks. If going from DC & switch to PATH - do not go down, just look for PATH passage on the platform itself. If going to DC from PATH - go down to station to get to needed platform.
Dining options are limited, take out style.

If you can avoid the homeless, look past the filth, and ignore the terrible modifications made by hack architects, you can still see traces of the beautiful railroad station this once was. The original lights, Pennsylvania railroad logos, art deco trim - reminders of when railroad travel was the primary mode of transport and not something relegated to inept state agencies.

It's a tragedy this building is owned by NJ Transit - a bloated, poorly run agency staffed by sullen employees who care nothing about this historic building. What idiot government employee thought punching a 70's metal pedestrian bridge through the facade of this station was a good idea?

If you want to see remnants of a once beautiful station, take a short ride to Newark Penn Station. Otherwise there is no reason to ever visit Newark.

Smells are awful but you're only there to commute it's okay. Be observant, don't stray away from crowds. The customer service at the Information Booth was very helpful. The maintenance staff is also very helpful if they think you're lost. Bathrooms are up-to-date, I saw someone standing on post wiping the floors and was vigilant of the area.

Nothing like Penn Station in NYC. Only a few shops, Dirty stairwells that smell of urine that lead the the tracks from the outside streets. Homeless people. A lot of police presence. People smoking Cigarettes while sitting on the limited benches on the platform while your sitting next to them. A McDonald’s that was closed. Not a station you want to wait at the platform level.

Historic Pennsylvania Station in Newark is aesthetically an architectural marvel. A lot of the marble internal construction still exists, maintaining some of the original allure that it had when it opened. However, despite several refurbishings in recent years, this place has sadly fallen prey to the times. What was once a pride now has become a shameful shadow of what once was. Despite some very nice food stands (and one train wreck of a McDonald's) it has become a place where commuters play games of "Get to your bus or train as fast as you can", "Dodge the panhandlers", and "Don't trip over, step on, or sit on, the homeless". Another popular game for travellers to engage in, is called "Go to the rest room (if you dare) without losing your last meal after getting a whiff of what's in there". While there is an omnipresent police presence there, it's simply a hopelessly lost war. Best advice to travellers: Get in, and get going as quickly as possible.