The crazier thing is that at Penn, the train is usually on the same stupid track. You realize this after you see the regulars lingering around certain areas of the mezzanine so they manage to get to the front of the line once it's formally announced.
So I think its more a keeping people off platform thing or overall zero care for customer service.
The Zürich main station for their busiest tracks uses a system where the track is not guaranteed, but the platform is, i.e. you wait on the platform, but you will only know a few minutes in advance whether the train is going to arrive on the left hand side or the right hand side.
For those who have ridden LIRR on weekends, theres the old Long Beach summer route where everyone is sprinting down the stairs in flip flops carrying beach chairs too. It's truly insane.
So I think its more a keeping people off platform thing or overall zero care for customer service.