I understand that there is a new monorail that goes fron Newark Airport to the train terminal in Newark (is it also called Penn Station?). Will it be relatively easy to catch a train to Penn Station in NYC from there?

Yes. I believe the monorail and the NJ Transit and Amtrak trains from the Newark station are coordinated in terms of times. You could probably look at the NJ Transit website for a schedule.

http://www.panynj.gov/airtrainnewark/

hi alf, we did this in january. caught the shuttle from ewr to the train station...you pay for your ticket before entering the train station itself, i think it cost $11.15 per adult. there's a lot of staff there so one can point out the platform you need to be at to head into NYP.

don't know what part of the country you're coming from, but a lot of people on the train got confused because with the conductor's accent, 'newark-penn' sounded a lot like 'new york-penn.' (luckily i had read this site beforehand and knew there were 2 'penn' stations!)

Great - thanks for the info. I'll be coming in from Seattle, but I'm a former East Coaster, so accents won't be a problem. Why the heck are there two Penn Stations?

I have done this twice. Coming into the city was a little more difficult than going out to the airport, as the permanent signs were not complete yet (as of March). There are some large plastic banners hanging way over the door, 20 feet up, for the "Air Train". Look for these. Or just ask around.

You'll take the free shuttle (monorail) to the NJ transit station, where you can purchase your tickets to the city. They have machines - you can pay by credit card. Roughly $11 per person.

The 1st stop on the train is Newark Penn, the second is New York Penn. I know, it's stupid and confusing that they have the same name!