HAVE A NICE DELAY
Penn Sta. repairs will mean commute woes
Descending into Penn Station is already like something from “Dante’s Inferno” — and now your commute is about to reach the ninth circle of hell.
Amtrak announced Tuesday it will embark on an extended program of renovation to fix problems that have led to multiple derailments — leaving commuters facing the prospect of long delays and brutal rides to and from work.
Amtrak won’t say how long the work will take. But it is not likely to be finished soon and will most acutely affect the tens of thousands of riders who use the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit.
Amtrak — which owns the station and leases lines to the other rail services — admitted the re- pairs will “result in some delays and cancellations.”
But it says the work is necessary after derailments on March 24 and April 3 caused extensive cancellations and delays.
“This renewal effort will replace and rejuvenate the selected infrastructure, providing needed updates, and is different than the ongoing repair work in New York Penn,” Amtrak said.
The need for repair work was highlighted Tuesday, as an Amtrak train became stuck in a tunnel in the morning rush hour, and failing over- head wires caused hour-long delays in the evening.
LIRR and NJ Transit officials have complained that their agencies have to bear the brunt of the delays and cancellations when there is a problem, while Amtrak continues to run most of its lines normally.
The company said it will have concrete plans for the repairs in the coming days.
NJ Transit officials Tuesday said they are in the dark about Amtrak’s latest plans.
“It’s imperative that NJ Transit see Amtrak’s plan to review its impact on our customers and the region’s economy,” said spokeswoman Nancy Snyder.
Riders were furious to hear that they will be delayed or stranded even more in the future.
“It’s too late and there is no good alert system,” said Andrew Pascal, 25, from Livingston, NJ. “I don’t think they will fix the tracks. All lies. There is a derailment every week. I tend to leave work earlier.”
Officials at the MTA — which runs the LIRR — also said they don’t know what Amtrak has planned.
“The MTA and Long Island Rail Road will thoroughly review the plan once it is presented,” said spokeswoman Beth DeFalco.