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'Summer of Hell' begins as Amtrak begins Penn Station track work
The “hell” is expected to last for two months, with track repair work expected to be completed by Sept. 1.
July 10, 2017
Amtrak photo of work on A Interlocking.
1 min to read
NEW YORK — Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and MTA passengers are bracing for the kickoff of what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called "the summer of hell" at Penn Station as Amtrak, its owner, embarks on emergency repairs, NBC News reports.
More than 1,300 trains run by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road travel on the station's 21 tracks each day, but that volume will be sharply curtailed for the repairs, with the effect during rush hour expected to be “like jamming gum into a bottleneck,” forcing commuters to find alternate ways into and out of Manhattan and further crowding highways and subways, according to NBC News.
Commuters have already been tested by a rash of problems in recent months — derailments, crashes, floods, equipment malfunctions — that have forced them to seek new ways to get to work. The most recent occurred Thursday night, when a NJ Transit train derailed near Penn Station.
The “hell” is expected to last for two months, with track repair work expected to be completed by Sept. 1. For the full story, click here.
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