[IMAGE]NJTransit31st-Street-entrance-062FULL.jpg[/IMAGE] On Monday, NJ Transit opened the new 31st Street entrance to the NJ Transit concourse at New York Penn Station – a direct gateway between the concourse and street level.

The new entrance, located at the corner of 7th Avenue and 31st Street, provides new escalators, an elevator and stairs that will relieve underground congestion and improve commuter traffic-flow for tens of thousands of riders.

Previously, customers needed to use the shared Amtrak concourse entrance – the heavily traveled entrance on 7th Avenue opposite 32nd Street – to gain access to the NJ Transit concourse, which opened in 2002.

The $19.2 million entrance also will benefit Amtrak, Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and New York City subway riders who share the midtown Manhattan rail hub by alleviating crowding at other entrances and interior walkways.

The NJ Transit entrance features a barrel-vaulted ceiling and exposed trusses reminiscent of the original Penn Station as well as modern train information displays, signage and lighting.

NJ Transit ridership to and from Manhattan has quadrupled over the past few decades and is projected to double again over the next 20 years. The new 31st Street entrance will enhance the new Mass Transit Tunnel, a project that will create more and improved rail service to meet the growing ridership demand.