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This is just another example of the media blowing things out of proportion. They love these catch phrases like "summer of hell" to create a story and drama to get people watching. This morning I was watching News 12 and their top story was the commute. They had a guy standing outside South Orange train station and there were literally 3 or 4 people walking by and the reporter basically had to say "there is nothing to see here". I'm sure that was a big letdown for the news producers. I'm sure they wanted to see chaos outside the station.
It's been funny listening to NPR and 101.5 get there panties in a wad over this and then have to listen to people call in and say "eh, it's not that big a deal."
From what I've seen so far, we haven't really experience anything yet. A lot of folks are on vacation this week, many of my co-workers are working remotely.
I did notice an uptick in road traffic. Prior to the scheduled work, there were tons of delays caused by the speed restrictions and having the Morris line removed actually eased congestion for the Northeast Corridor and NJ Coastline trains. So it's been a blessing for folks that ride from Princeton into Penn.
We're not even in the home stretch for summer commute, as I've experienced many years that hot summer weather and train problems could have extensive delays throughout the system.
There was one summer maybe 2014 when NJ Transit was nearly problem free.
If I have a say in this, I would have the Morris and Essex lines permanently banned from entering Penn until the tunnel work is completely finished and that could take 5 years to complete.
It's been funny listening to NPR and 101.5 get there panties in a wad over this and then have to listen to people call in and say "eh, it's not that big a deal."
I think NJT, Amtrak and others did a good job of setting expectations so low that anything short of a transit apocalypse would be considered a win. But I don't think people having significant time added to their commutes (some are more affected than others) for almost two months should be considered not a big deal. Commute times are already long and an extra 15-20 minutes each way really adds up. Also, things could get pretty bad if there are any issues with Hoboken or the Path during this time period. We've been too conditioned to just accept constant delays and disruptions.
So I don't think it's right to be complacent and just act like this is no big deal. That creates a climate where politicians think it's ok to neglect infrastructure maintenance. There's still no certain path for a new tunnel to NYC and the current tunnel is dangerously close to being shut down, particularly because of the damage caused by Sandy. So we're still in danger of things getting much worse.
I happen to work closer to the ferry terminal than I do to Penn or the PATH, so the commute really hasn't been bad. As I've had good luck with immediate ferry connections on both ends of my commute and I have less walking, it's about the same time door to door (*my Penn Station train is almost always 10-15 minutes late, this is taking that reality into consideration). Since the schedule is 15 minutes earlier it means that I'm more likely close enough to 'on time' than previously.
If there wasn't a steeper than I'd like price increase for this, I'd be prone to opt for it permanently once the 39th St. to Hoboken ferry is permanent. These ferries are pretty pleasant!
If I have a say in this, I would have the Morris and Essex lines permanently banned from entering Penn until the tunnel work is completely finished and that could take 5 years to complete.
LMAO, yeah, f all those people that bought houses near a train to take them to work if it makes my ride a little nicer.
NJT (and NY Waterways) managed to screw up a little more today; by the end of next week we should have full Summer Of Hell. On the way in, took the bus from Newark Broad. About 4 people on it! But PABT is still overcrowded so we sat in line there a good long time. On the way home, NY Waterways managed to screw up the buses; the first bus wouldn't stop (full, I guess), and the other buses on their app never showed up during my walk down 42nd. Ferry trip itself was fine but then NJT had canceled and delayed a bunch of trains, so I had to take the sloooowwww local. And it seems they only had one door working, which meant it took a long time at every stop.
This is just a quick post on a slightly different note... For those who have not seen it, this is an official Amtrak web site with the information about the work in Penn station: https://www.amtrak.com/nyprenewal
I think out of many articles that I have seen, this site offers the best explanation of the workin progress. It also has enough explanations about railroad terminology that the progress of work is easy to follow. The site also has weekly reports though they only keep last week's copy.
There are a few others on YouTube... Apparently Amtrak CEO is trying to call this period a "Summer of Renewal".
I believe this information shows the almost criminal lack of extra capacity in the station. US must be the only Western country were a major railroad station in a major city operates on 11 platforms and 22 tracks. Shared between three railroads carrying 650K passengers a day...
I believe this information shows the almost criminal lack of extra capacity in the station. US must be the only Western country were a major railroad station in a major city operates on 11 platforms and 22 tracks. Shared between three railroads carrying 650K passengers a day...
Berlin HBF has 14 tracks and 7 platforms (plus the U-bahn)
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