Met-North’s strandard op
The MTA took a beating for abruptly canceling Metro-North service after noon on Tuesday — even though the blizzard had fizzled and morning trains had already carried riders into the city.
The agency restored partial service on the line at 6 p.m. — but only after repeated inquiries by The Post about why service had been cut, leaving an untold number of steamed commuters believing they were stranded.
Romano Baruzzi, 54, an Italian diplomat who lives in Westchester, just missed the last train out of Grand Central on the New Haven line minutes after noon.
“I’m upset. The information I received was confusing. I can’t understand why more trains are not leaving. In my opinion, the weather is not bad outside. I’m angry. I’m incazzato!” he told The Post, using an Italian phrase for “pissed off.”
He said he received a text message from the MTA at 10:30 a.m. that the last train was leaving at noon. But then he went to the MTA Web site and it reported all trains were canceled, and that the last New Haven line train had left at 10:30 a.m.
Baruzzi said he could not figure out if he should pay attention to the Web site or the text message, and eventually got a ride home from his wife, who had to shlep to the city to get him.
Commuters took to Twitter to rail against the MTA, which made the decision, and Gov. Cuomo, who announced it during a news conference.
“@NYGovCuomo Like you, I HAVE to work today. Unlike you, I don’t have a driver to get me home. So please open @MetroNorth tonight ASAP. Thx,” added a user named Chuck.
“@MetroNorth what about the people who commuted in this morning? As usual @NYGovCuomo drops the ball with regards to transportation,” wrote Alexander Xenopoulos.
MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco said riders were told Monday evening via Twitter and text and e-mail alerts that there could be service changes, and the alerts linked to an MTA Web site that said suspensions were “likely.”
Cuomo and MTA interim head Ronnie Hakim said the decision to shut down service was based on weather forecasts suggesting that up to two feet of snow could bury the region.