Summer commute a rail pain at Penn
Commuters, here is some of the hell you’re in for this summer.
New Jersey Transit on Friday released its summer schedule changes to accommodate Amtrak’s overhaul of the decrepit rails in and around Penn Station.
But while the MTA had said it was pushing to inform the public of its LIRR changes by June 1, it has yet to say how it will reroute trains, according to a spokeswoman — leaving riders in the dark with just three weeks to go before the multitrack shutdowns.
“The MTA likes to keep us guessing. They like to give us a surprise; that does not bode well for the summer of hell,” griped “Mike P.,” who takes the LIRR into Penn from Syosset.
The NJ Transit changes will be in effect weekdays between Monday, July 10, and Friday, Sept. 1.
One notable change to NJ Transit: Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown line scheduled to arrive at Penn Station after 7 a.m. will be diverted to Hoboken, where commuters will then have to transfer to New York Waterway ferries or PATH trains.
Only four early-morning trains, originating in Hackettstown, will be spared this diversion. But riders will still have to make the PATH transfer coming home.
New York Waterway will offer special service from Hoboken Terminal to West 39th Street in Midtown every 15 minutes, ac- cording to New Jersey Transit.
Midtown Direct customers on the Morris and Essex lines will receive up to a 63 percent discount off their regular fare — and their fares will be cross-honored in Hoboken and other alternative locations — during the rerouting.
Rider Tina Chrisafis said the discount helps offset that her commute will be 50 percent longer. “NJ Transit has been good to us . . . that will definitely help,” said Chrisafis, who explained that her commute is growing from 1 ¹/2 to 2 ¹ /4 hours.
Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines will operate on regular weekday schedules with only minor time changes to and from Penn Station.
The Amtrak construction will take place every day of the week, with some tracks out of commission around the clock, Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman told The Post in April.
Sources said Amtrak would tackle only four of the station’s 21 tracks at a time, but Moorman would not commit to that.
“I don’t make any guarantees about disruptions,” he said at the time. “Our target is that the minimum number of tracks will be impacted and minimum number of people impacted while getting this work done.”
Two derailments at Penn Station this year severely hampered train traffic — especially for LIRR and NJ Transit customers.