Evening Commute For LIRR Riders Struck By Major Weather-Related Signal Problems
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It turned out to be a miserable Monday afternoon for thousands of Long Island Rail Road customers just looking to get home after work.
The service problems on the railroad were due to 2 lightning strikes that took out signal equipment.
Earlier Monday, service on the Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson, Hempstead, Montauk, Oyster Bay and Babylon lines was suspended. Service on those lines was restored with residual delays a few hours later.
However, the transit agency said Monday night that commuters should expect normal rush hour service for Tuesday morning. LIRR said that passengers should check mta.info for the latest information.
Inside Penn Station, thousands were straining their necks watching the schedule monitors while listening for any service changes.
"Service is so antiquated -- it either stops when it snows, it stops when it rains, it stops when it's hot. I mean, it's a little outdated," one woman told CBS 2's Tony Aiello.
"Just seems like there's been a pattern irregardless of the weather, irregardless of anything," said another commuter.
LIRR Spokesman Sal Arena spoke with 1010 WINS Monday afternoon, to say the situation was getting better.
While acknowledging a crowding problem at Penn Station earlier in the day, he said it is something that "typically happens" when service issues are incurred.
Arena said that police purposely limited access to Penn Station "for their own safety," referring to the crowds.
Juliet Papa, of 1010 WINS, reported that the crowding problem had significantly been alleviated around 6 p.m.
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