LIRR President Warns Future Breakdowns Could Happen 'At A Moment's Notice'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Long Island Rail Road said equipment breakdowns like the one riders experienced on Wednesday could happen "at a moment's notice'' until it can make permanent repairs to a faulty signal system.
The signals outside the East River tunnels leading into Penn Station failed Wednesday, causing long delays for morning commuters, the railroad said.
LIRR: Signal Failure Could Strand Riders In Future Again
Temporary repairs were made in time for the evening rush, but Newsday reports LIRR President Patrick Nowakowski called the temporary fix "fragile.''
Permanent repair work is continuing.
At an unrelated event, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the need to upgrade the transit system, including the LIRR, is urgent.
LIRR: Signal Failure Could Strand Riders In Future Again
Many commuters continued to express anger and frustration Thursday morning, a day after experiencing nearly two-hour service suspensions.
"The ticket keeps going up, nothing gets done and there's always some excuse," one rider at the Hicksville station told WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs. "'Sorry for the inconvenience' is not good enough."
"Three-hundred [dollars] a month and I still can't get a ride," another rider said. "This is a joke."
Other riders were a little more forgiving.
"Every once in a while you have a little problem, but overall they're doing a good job," said rider John Campo. "It's summertime, 90 degrees, the power went out."
"They can't see the future, they don't know what's going to happen...this is life," another rider said.
On Wednesday, commuters posted pictures to social media of massive crowds trying to squeeze onto the subway system at Jamaica after service to Penn Station was suspended.
Congestion from the suspension caused delays of up to 90 minutes systemwide for hours after service returned.
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