The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ (via NJ.com), 11/26/23
Grand entrance is no help to NJ Transit commuters | Letters
By Letters to the Editor | The Star-Ledger
There is nothing to celebrate for NJ Transit riders concerning the recent reopening of the 7th Avenue/32nd Street entrance to Penn Station in New York City, after a $600 million makeover.
Just like previous investments including the $1.6 billion Moynihan Station, the $300 million West End Concourse, the $600 million 7th Avenue/33rd Street entrance and the enlarged Main Concourse, these $3.1 billion in improvements do nothing to eliminate periodic cancellation and consolidation of Amtrak, NJ Transit and Long Island Railroad trains utilizing either the East River or Hudson River tunnels. Theses incident occur due to signal and power issues, broken rails or other malfunctions.
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The investments outlined above do not improve service reliability or provide additional platform and track capacity. Periodic overcrowding at the mezzanine and platform levels will continue. This results in overcrowded trains with insufficient seating. Some riders end up standing in the vestibules and aisles. The mad rush to board late-arriving trains for the trip home will continue.
Larry Penner, Great Neck, N.Y.
Editor’s note: The writer previously served as a director for the Federal Transit Administration’s Region 2 (New York) Office of Operations and Program Management.