'One Of The Worst Services:' Penn Station Customers Fed Up After Another Nightmare Commute
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Penn Station commuters are hoping for an easier ride Wednesday after switch problems caused major delays and cancellations on the Long Island Rail Road and NJ TRANSIT during the Tuesday evening rush.
Just this week, Amtrak lifted a 10-mile per hour speed restriction to ease congestion and delays, but despite this, the evening commute was once again a mess and passengers are fed up.
"There is literally an issue with this every single day," said commuter Brandon Berman. "One of the worst services, like in the world."
"They are managing our expectations by consistently giving poor service so you just expect poor service," said commuter Hillary Soloway.
In the past few months, commuting issues including derailments, power outages and track issues have piled on top of each other. For some, it's enough to avoid the Big Apple.
"I hate coming into the city now," said Great Neck resident Lori Burkhoff.
Amtrak is responsible for the maintenance of the station and its tracks. The agency planning to shut down three tracks at a time during a two-month-long repair project starting in July, reducing service.
"If you reduce trains coming into Penn by 20 percent, it will be a summer of hell," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Commuters just want someone to understand where they are coming from.
"Some of the leadership should come down and try to get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time and see how frustrating it is," said rider Hillary Soloway.
Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have both called for Penn Station to be taken over and manged by a private operator. In a public hearing, Amtrak apologized for the recent issues, but defended their ability to manage the system.
