'Summer Of Hell' Was No Big Deal, Penn Station Commuters Say

NEW YORK CITY, NY – When it comes to traveling into New York City, it seems commuters will take the "Summer of Hell" over a regular day. A promise of months of extensive fixes for Penn Station's 40-year-old tracks, faulty switches and other ancient features promised a nightmarish scene of chaos stretching for weeks.

"It's going to be like that movie 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' and we're preparing for what we call a 'Summer of Hell,'" Cuomo said in May, referencing the 1980s comedy in which Steve Martin’s character is subjected to a torturous trip home.

Transit authorities planned extensive service changes. Amtrak deployed “ambassadors” to Penn Station to answer passengers’ questions. And news outlets sounded the knell of the apocalypse.

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But, as providers last week announced they would return to normal Sept. 5, many people riding between the city, New Jersey and Long Island seemed disappointed to be going back to normal.

"Why go back to broken system, this actually has been better than regular!!!!!!!!!!" commuter Robert Barletta commented on the Facebook page The Delayed on New Jersey Transit Support Group.

“It hasn’t been the ‘Summer of Hell’ that everyone was making it out to be,” said Sarah Mitchell, 22, who was at Penn Station waiting to take a Long Island Rail Road train to Merrick last week. “I haven’t had any horrible experiences yet.”

“It’s been smooth. Not one problem at all, and I’ve gone back and forth from Ronkonkoma to here,” said Dennis Allmer, 54.

Earlier this summer, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie voiced outrage over Cuomo’s assessment of the Penn Station repairs, saying, “I’m going to smack him for the 'Summer of Hell' comment. We should be more disciplined than that.”

But commuters like Allmer didn’t seem to mind the hype.

“If they don’t tell you the gory details of how bad it might be, they’re going to be on the hook for it,” he said. “So might as well say it could disrupt dramatically, so plan accordingly.”

Train expert Howard Sackel expressed a similar sentiment.

“When people anticipate the worst and it turns out to be a lot better, I think everybody looks good,” said Sackel, a former Port Authority official. “So it’s always – sound the alarm, say it could be really disastrous, be prepared and do what you can to mitigate it, which they did.”

Amtrak officials have reported steady progress throughout the summer. Phase one of the repairs – focusing on demolition work, replacing wooden rails and installing new third rails – ended on time near the end of July, according to Amtrak Chief Engineer Gery Williams. He says phase two, involving work on a complicated junction, is on track to end by the Labor Day weekend deadline.

“There have been some glitches, but for the most part, people were prepared. It seemed to have worked out well,” said Sackel, who now works at a consulting firm, Paco Technologies, which he said has contracts with LIRR and NJ Transit.

For many commuters, the city’s subway system, which is in the middle of a meltdown, has far eclipsed the situation at Penn Station.

“It’s been a little more congested, but I think they did a pretty good job, honestly, as far as service goes,” said Daniel Ruanova, 40, who was waiting for a train to Hoboken. The station there saw extra train traffic, from NJ Transit's Midtown Direct line, to accommodate the repairs at Penn Station.

Mitchell said the key to staying sane on her commute was being positive.

“I was expecting it to just be absolutely torturous and horrible,” she remarked. “Don’t dread something that hasn’t happened yet. Kind of take it by the minute, buy your train ride and be a little more positive.”

Asked for comment, a Cuomo spokesman took the opportunity to tout the governor's recent plans to turn around the transit system.

“Thankfully for LIRR commuters, so far we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario — otherwise known as hell —during Amtrak’s repairs, because of the extensive preparation and mitigation measures we put in place," the spokesman said in an email.

"What’s also clear is that the MTA’s new leadership team, Chairman (Joe) Lhota’s stabilization plan, and the key initiatives announced by the Governor are critical steps forward for the entire system.”

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Lead image by Shant Shahrigian/Patch.