Amtrak is about to make Penn Station hell with reconstruction
Amtrak will overhaul the decrepit rails in and around Penn Station this summer — with multitrack shutdowns creating nightmarish commutes for tens of thousands of LIRR and NJ Transit riders, officials said Thursday.
The construction will take place every day of the week, with some tracks out of commission around the clock, said Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman, who added he’s shooting for a completion sometime in September.
Sources told The Post the railroad would try to tackle only four of the station’s 21 tracks at a time, but Moorman would not commit to that.
“I don’t make any guarantees about disruptions,” he said. “Our target is that the minimum number of tracks to be impacted and minimum number of people to be impacted while getting this work done.”
The tracks are in such poor condition that the company has to do all repairs at once instead of spreading them out over years as originally planned, said Moorman.
“The events of the past month have shown we have to step up our game and get the work done immediately,” he said.
The repairs will include replacement of timber, steel, switch­es and electrical components.
“It is all at a point where it needs to be renewed rather than keep trying to repair it,” said Moorman.
There have been two derailments at Penn Station in the past five weeks that have severely hampered train traffic — especially for LIRR and NJ Transit customers.
The most recent derailment, on April 3, caused an entire week of delays and cancellations as Amtrak scrambled to replace aging timber and switches.
Riders were glad to hear that Amtrak is making repairs, but expressed skepticism that the work would be done properly.
“It’s going to be a disaster,” predicted Blake Drescher, who takes commutes from Huntington, LI. “They’re probably going to have to run less trains and they’re already packed.
“People are paying almost $400 a month to stand around every day,” he added.
MTA and NJ Transit officials said they expect Amtrak to consult them every step of the way.
“The MTA’s top priorities are ensuring the safety of our riders and that Amtrak keeps service disruptions due to their repair work to the minimal amount possible,” said MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Bain