Hell on tracks

ead us not into Penn Station, but deliver us from evil” is an old saw that perfectly fits with the decrepitude of the nation’s busiest railway hub, now exponentially exacerbated by a derailment that is making life hell for hundreds of thousands of commuters from New Jersey and Long Island.

The Monday morning mishap knocked tracks out of commission and threw already unpleasant commutes into total turmoil for now four days running.

NJ Transit is running on a weekend and holiday service schedule. And Wednesday, two days after the Monday-morning mishap, the LIRR canceled 25 evening rush trains from Penn. That’s 30,000 people forced to find another way home.

Meanwhile, Amtrak, which on a normal day carries only 10,000 passengers through Penn, will “maintain normally scheduled service.”

Don’t be fooled. Though the derailed locomotive was the property of New Jersey’s commuter rail line, the central problem at the station is and will always be Amtrak’s.

With less than 10% of trains and passengers, Amtrak ought to be a bit player. But, by accident of history, it’s the place’s landlord. And Amtrak is a very bad landlord indeed that should be evicted.

Unlike the LIRR and NJ Transit, Amtrak has no capital program and no source of capital funds.

Their equipment is old. Their thinking is old. The station is in bad shape. And when there’s an accident, they are still calling the shots, even though the commuter lines have greater resources in terms of repair crews and equipment.

Having had enough, MTA bosses Ronnie Hakim and Freddy Ferrer, who oversee the LIRR, went public with a harsh letter Wednesday.

They demand answers, as do our friends across the Hudson, about Amtrak’s shoddy maintenance and about why its low-ridership trains always have priority. It’s not nearly enough.

There’s no quick fix to a mess as big as Penn, but a prerequisite to any serious answer is sidelining Amtrak.

Penn should either be entirely taken over by the LIRR, or be turned into a union station with the LIRR and NJ Transit splitting major ownership and junior partner Amtrak getting a small share.

Instead of being Penn’s conductor, Amtrak should be in the caboose.