Commuters wait for track announcements
at New York's Pennsylvania Station which began track repairs causing
massive disruptions to commuters in New York City, U.S., July 10, 2017.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
They were warned
to expect hell, but many commuters to New York City on the first day of
disruptive repairs at the nation's busiest rail hub on Monday said their
rides were no worse than usual for the crowded, delay-prone transit
system.Some, noting the sunny weather, even enjoyed being diverted onto a free, specially arranged ferry.
The three railroads that carry tens of thousands of people each day to and from Pennsylvania Station in midtown Manhattan have canceled some trains and rerouted others for the eight weeks the work on the tracks is expected to take.
Some riders from suburban New Jersey complained about lengthened commutes, while noting they were already used to delays after a string of derailments and stalled trains at the station this year that the repairs are intended to remedy.
Del Gales, a 23-year-old financial debt negotiator, reckoned his journey to Manhattan's financial district from his home in Summit, New Jersey, would take an extra 40 minutes.
"At least it's summer," he reasoned. "You have to appreciate the small things."
Many riders and transit officials attributed the relatively smooth start to a successful public awareness campaign, including numerous station attendants who answered questions, handed out pamphlets and herded disoriented passengers.
"Tickets out!" one attendant bellowed at New Jersey's Hoboken Terminal, a stop short and the wrong side of the Hudson River from Manhattan. "This way to the 39th Street ferry!" shouted another.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had predicted a "summer of hell" for commuters as the repairs continued through to Sept. 1.
But some riders relished a free ride on a ferry that normally costs $9.
"It's my first time," said David Lawner, a database administrator from West Orange, New Jersey, as he marveled at the warm breezes of the ferry's open top deck and the sun-glistening water. "Isn't this relaxing?"
Another ferry rider, Kathleen Lynn, was less rhapsodic. "It's going to add 20 minutes," said Lynn, a Summit resident who works in financial services. "Or an hour. Depends on whether everything hooks up."
Disruptions from the Penn Station upgrades are expected to cost Manhattan employers about $14.5 million for each hour that commuters are delayed, according to an estimate by the Partnership for New York City.
Penn Station, an underground maze of low ceilings and mediocre dining spots built in the 1960s, serves about 95,000 New Jersey Transit customers and about 116,000 Long Island Rail Road customers on an average weekday, according to 2016 data.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail corporation and the station's owner, says an average of 28,000 rides a day begin or end in Penn Station on its intercity services.
The commuter crunch highlights lagging investment in U.S. infrastructure, and especially in New York City, which is dependent on mass transit.
Even so, Amtrak reported most of its trains ran on time or close to it.
"We've had a good commute this morning," Wick Moorman, Amtrak's president, said in an interview. "It's the first morning of a long process, but right now we feel good."
The three railroads that carry tens of thousands of people each day to and from Pennsylvania Station in midtown Manhattan have canceled some trains and rerouted others for the eight weeks the work on the tracks is expected to take.
Some riders from suburban New Jersey complained about lengthened commutes, while noting they were already used to delays after a string of derailments and stalled trains at the station this year that the repairs are intended to remedy.
Del Gales, a 23-year-old financial debt negotiator, reckoned his journey to Manhattan's financial district from his home in Summit, New Jersey, would take an extra 40 minutes.
"At least it's summer," he reasoned. "You have to appreciate the small things."
Many riders and transit officials attributed the relatively smooth start to a successful public awareness campaign, including numerous station attendants who answered questions, handed out pamphlets and herded disoriented passengers.
"Tickets out!" one attendant bellowed at New Jersey's Hoboken Terminal, a stop short and the wrong side of the Hudson River from Manhattan. "This way to the 39th Street ferry!" shouted another.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had predicted a "summer of hell" for commuters as the repairs continued through to Sept. 1.
But some riders relished a free ride on a ferry that normally costs $9.
"It's my first time," said David Lawner, a database administrator from West Orange, New Jersey, as he marveled at the warm breezes of the ferry's open top deck and the sun-glistening water. "Isn't this relaxing?"
Another ferry rider, Kathleen Lynn, was less rhapsodic. "It's going to add 20 minutes," said Lynn, a Summit resident who works in financial services. "Or an hour. Depends on whether everything hooks up."
Disruptions from the Penn Station upgrades are expected to cost Manhattan employers about $14.5 million for each hour that commuters are delayed, according to an estimate by the Partnership for New York City.
Penn Station, an underground maze of low ceilings and mediocre dining spots built in the 1960s, serves about 95,000 New Jersey Transit customers and about 116,000 Long Island Rail Road customers on an average weekday, according to 2016 data.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail corporation and the station's owner, says an average of 28,000 rides a day begin or end in Penn Station on its intercity services.
The commuter crunch highlights lagging investment in U.S. infrastructure, and especially in New York City, which is dependent on mass transit.
Even so, Amtrak reported most of its trains ran on time or close to it.
"We've had a good commute this morning," Wick Moorman, Amtrak's president, said in an interview. "It's the first morning of a long process, but right now we feel good."
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