Amtrak CEO on Smooth Start to ‘Summer of Hell': Commuters Have ‘Figured It Out'
Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman reaffirmed the Labor Day end date to the Penn Station overhaul during remarks at the National Press Club Wednesday
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Day two of the Penn Station overhaul and so far commuters aren’t quite feeling the train pain just yet. Checkey Beckford reports.
What to Know
Amtrak is making extensive repairs to tracks and signals in Penn Station, which it owns and operates
Gov. Cuomo predicted it would be a "summer of hell" for commuters, but three days in, all appears to be running smoothly
Authorities credit careful planning and commuter outreach with the smooth start to the overhaul, but much remains to be seen
Outgoing Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman says commuters "by and large, they've figured it out," as far as "summer of hell" service changes are concerned, and praised early and consistent outreach for a smooth start to the overhaul.
Moorman, speaking at the National Press Club Wednesday, also reaffirmed the Labor Day end date to Amtrak's eight-week Penn Station infrastructure work. He said if the government-owned railroad somehow found itself running behind, it could button up the project during weekend outages.
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Crowds of people wait inside New York's Penn Station around 5:30 a.m. Monday.
NBC 4 New York
There are a few delays but no major problems at Penn Station around 5:30 a.m. Monday.
NBC 4 New York
Crowds wait inside Penn Station around 5:45 a.m. Monday.
More people go about their commute at Penn Station around 5:45 a.m. Monday.
NBC 4 New York
Growing crowds inside Penn Station around 6:30 a.m. Monday.
NBC 4 New York
LIRR riders wait inside Penn Station around 6:30 a.m. Monday.
Alex DeMatos/Twitter
One of many lines at Penn Station that stretched far out of the terminals.
Despite some crowding at the stations, the Amtrak CEO declares the first day of Train Pain “a success.”
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An overcrowded PATH train at around 8:00 a.m.
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A late and crowded LIRR train in Queens at around 9:15 a.m.
@SuperChick356
Donuts and coffee for riders at the Maplewood NJ Transit station this morning.
Matthew Pantaleno
Penn Station under construction.
Matthew Pantaleno
A bulldozer on the tracks in Penn Station.
Matthew Pantaleno
Penn Station Amtrak construction.
Matthew Pantaleno
Amtrak construction in Penn Station.
Matthew Pantaleno
Trains arrive amid Amtrak construction at Penn Station.
Amtrak workers repair tracks in New York's Penn Station.
Commuters listen as MTA chairman Joe Lhota addressed how day one went.
Lhota said that they hope Amtrak repairs will take no longer than two months, but he will see what happens.
Lhota reported that not as many people were using the alternate systems provided, like the ferries, as he expected.
Lhota said that Long Island commuters didn’t use the buses as much as he had expected.
Alternate subway options include taking the E train to Jamaica or the 7 train to Hunter’s Point in Long Island City.
Long Island Rail Road commuters must take the train in different directions, rerouting their routine commute to Queens.
Long Island Rail Road commuters arrive at the Hunterspoint Ave. station in Queens.
Amtrak passengers' tickets are checked as they line up to board a train in Penn Station.
A Long Island Rail Road usher aides a passenger in New York's Penn Station.
People enter the PATH station in Hoboken Terminal.
A PATH train packed with commuters is ready for departure from the PATH station in Hoboken Terminal.
A worker directs people as they enter the PATH station in Hoboken Terminal.
People walk along the railway platform as they arrive at Hoboken Terminal.
Signs direct incoming travelers advise them of the other transportation options besides trains at Hoboken Terminal.
MTA personnel direct Long Island Rail Road commuters to subway options at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn N.Y.
Julie Lynn Mark/Instagram
Crowded platforms at Hoboken. Many commuters report adding half an hour to an hour to their daily commute with the alternate route.
By the end of evening rush hour on day one, there are 12,500 extra riders expected on NJ Transit.
There are nearly 2,000 extra riders expected on NJ Transit to Midtown and nearly 9,000 extra expected to Hoboken.
The extensive eight-week repair program at the aging Manhattan hub started Monday, a project expedited by a series of derailments and other issues. Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road commuters are affected by service changes, but three days into the so-called "summer of hell," it's been going smoothly.
That's because commuters knew well in advance, Moorman says.
"What commuters hate is when you have an unplanned disruption," he said. "This summer, while there are disruptions, they've known about it a month in advance. People figure it out if they know what's going on."
Asked how to prevent such overhauls in the future, Moorman pointed to a recent comment made by MTA Chairman Joe Lhota in which Lhota suggested more lengthy service disruptions might be required to truly overhaul the infrastructure of the 112-year-old subway system, which has been plagued by its own series of issues, from breakdowns to signal problems to a derailment.
That's precisely what Amtrak did in deciding to knock three of 21 tracks out of service for the entire summer to overhaul Penn, Moorman said.
"This is a big outage. We're addressing the most difficult place to renew in Penn Station and we just have to continue to educate people about the necessity of renewing these assets," he said. "I think the the public understands if you explain it and you don't use rhetoric that might be viewed as inflammatory that these kinds of projects are essential."
