New York City commuters embarked on the dreaded “summer of hell” Monday with the first day of track repairs at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan. The result: not quite as hellish as a series of train derailments (and the subsequent gloating of a Chicago mayor) might lead you to expect.
Monday was the first of 44 days of reduced train service at Penn Station, and the three railroads that use it — the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit and Amtrak — have cut back their schedules, made cancellations and rerouted trains to facilitate emergency work on the station’s tracks, the New York Times reports. Many commuters left home early to try out new routes, and the stations were “covered with signs and … staffed by transit workers ready to offer guidance,” according to the paper.
“This has been the best commuting day of my life so far,” one commuter told the Times, adding that “everybody is very wary; this is only day one.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was less cautiously optimistic.
“We’ve done everything you can possibly do short of call in the military with some type of parachuting ability,” he said, according to the paper.
Some commuters broadcast their relief on Twitter.
first ride during the #summerofhell and it was actually a smooth experience with no delays. @NJTRANSIT
— Samantha Tartas (@samanthatartas) July 11, 2017
Thanks to @NJTRANSIT for good job so far with #summerofhell. Smooth commutes so far. Hope not jinxing things and it continues.
— Larry Hirsch (@LarryHirsch2) July 11, 2017
But the day was not without bumps. Many weary commuters missed connections or had to wait on trains running far behind schedule.
And just like that, with zero notice, my A train is being re-routed via the F line tracks. Really @MTA? #WeTheCommuters pic.twitter.com/5jP4PztMuv
— Lee Hill (@public_lee) July 11, 2017
Pretty sure I rode the PATH into NYC today with everyone in Morris and Essex county #njcommute #NJTransit #summerofhell pic.twitter.com/TToxkpbGaV
— Olivia Mulvihill (@OliviaMulvihill) July 11, 2017
Some commuters opted to circumvent the station altogether.
Just rode my @CitiBikeNYC right around the Summer of Hell to my second day of jury duty. Was lovely.
— Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) July 11, 2011
Still others opined that Penn Station had actually been hell for a long time.
they are calling this the “summer of hell” at penn station
— #rachelsyme (@rachsyme) July 9, 2017
jokes on them, because penn station has been hell since 1968
Day one down — only 43 to go.
Rachel Dovey is an award-winning freelance writer and former USC Annenberg fellow living at the northern tip of California’s Bay Area. She writes about infrastructure, water and climate change and has been published by Bust, Wired, Paste, SF Weekly, the East Bay Express and the North Bay Bohemian
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