Transit snarl slowly begins to unravel

They’re small inconveniences in the face of the destruction left by Hurricane Sandy.

 

But commuters who use regional passenger rail services are still having to find alternate routes to work. Tony Annechino, 15 minutes late to work Wednesday morning, was frustrated by the inevitably changing schedules as service is restored in stages.  

“I have to leave much earlier,” explained Annechino, who takes New Jersey Transit into Philadelphia.

“Depending on which bus I figure out to get, it might be much earlier.” he said.

The ETA for the commutes of Annechino and others to get back to normal remains unclear. New Jersey resumed River Line light rail service Wednesday, but a timeline for full restoration of service has not been nailed down.

Amtrak will have modified service to New York on Friday. Spokeswoman Christina Lee said the tunnels into the city took on water during heavy flooding.

“We’re waiting to get that water out of the tunnel so we can assess the damage and determine when we can get back through there,” she said.

Normally, approximately 750,000 passengers travel daily on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, on Amtrak and local commuter trains.