Preparing for Penn Station chaos
Some companies are already preparing for the chaos Penn Station repair work could cause for their employees' commute over the summer. The search for office space outside the city is heating up.
Penn Station repairs
Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday unveiled a plan to limit the impact on New Jersey commuters during an emergency track repair project at Penn Station, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo cautioned commuters in his state to prepare for a "summer of hell."
Penn Station rescue (Courtesy of Ed Keenan)
Emergency workers responded to a person on the tracks in Penn Station on Friday. These cellphone videos show medics, firefighters, and police at the scene. (Courtesy of Ed Keenan)
Amtrak CEO testifies
Charles "Wick" Moorman, president and CEO of Amtrak testified Thursday before an assembly committee on how the railroad plans to improve what has become a dire situation at Penn Station. This summer Amtrak will begin a major project to upgrade tracks at Penn, which date back to the 1970s. That will mean significant weekday service outages of up to a quarter of trains during much of July and August, as well as weekend and overnight outages.
Penn Station flooding
The heavy rain caused some flooding in and around Penn Station. An entrance was closed and the stairs leading to a platform were closed for a few hours.
Water leak in Penn Station
As bad as the commute through Penn Station in Manhattan is these days, it got even worse Wednesday when a ceiling pipe burst, dumping gallons of disgusting-smelling water on a Long Island Rail Road concourse and then down to a platform below.
Expect more Penn Station woes
Rail commuters at NY Penn Station can anticipate as many as three "significant" service disruptions this summer as part of the accelerated repair work of its aging infrastructure plans announced this week. Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman told a New Jersey legislative committee Friday that the goal is to have the work at the nation's busiest rail station done by Labor Day. "Amtrak now plans to advance this work quickly through a series of major projects beginning in May and continuing through the fall in order to quickly achieve the benefits of this renewal work for our partners and passengers," according to a statement posted to Amtrak.com. The work will require the closing of tracks and schedule changes of all the railroads operating at NY Penn.
Amtrak repairs
Amtrak will step up infrastructure repairs in Penn Station this summer, but that will mean more service delays to accommodate the construction and rehabbing. The work will require the closing of tracks and schedule changes of all the railroads operating at Penn. Some work will be done on weekends but a significant part will be done on weekdays, according to Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman.
Commuter chaos again
LIRR and NJT commuters had to deal with yet another nightmare commute. A power problem in an East River tunnel caused extensive delays. When will this end?
Penn Station lawsuit?
MTA board members are fed up with Amtrak's handling of Penn Station. The MTA is now considering legal action against Amtrak after trail derailments in March and April.
Rail infrastructure
Amtrak says it is committed to improving conditions at Penn Station New York following two recent derailments. About half a million people use Penn Station every day. Many riders want to know why this seems to be happening more and more often.
Penn Station mess
Amtrak promised to have repairs to tracks finished in time for the Friday morning commute in and out of Penn Station New York.
NJ Transit blames Amtrak
New Jersey Transit officials are lashing out at Amtrak due to the rail problems at Penn Station that have heavily impacted rush hour traffic through the commuter hub for the entire week.
Penn Station woes
Rail officials offered no estimate Tuesday for when full service would be restored at Penn Station a day after a second derailment in less than two weeks wreaked havoc for hundreds of thousands of commuters and long-distance travelers up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Mass Transit Changes Due to NJ Transit Derailment
Tuesday morning was shaping up to be a tough one for commuters with delays, cancellations and modified service on most mass transit services.
Penn Station mess
A New Jersey Transit train suffered a "minor" derailment on Track 9 at New York's Penn Station on Monday morning. The rush-hour incident caused huge problems. Limited service resumed in the afternoon, but service is expected to be impacted into Tuesday.
Penn Station mess
An Amtrak train derailed and side-swiped a New Jersey Transit train at Penn Station, causing a nightmare for commuters.
Cheaper commute?
The Freedom Ticket would give the commuter the freedom to ride whatever mode of transportation meets their needs in a given area. The ticket would allow unlimited free transfers across LIRR and MTA bus and subway lines for a flat rate. While it hasn't been determined what that rate would be, it would be significantly less than the cost of separate tickets.