Penn Station Delays, Cancelations Caused By 'Switch Issue'

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The "Summer of Hell" will officially start when Amtrak launches a massive infrastructure repair program on July 1o. But ask any Penn Station commuter and they'll tell you the station has resembled The Inferno for many months now.

Eastbound trains were delayed and canceled during the Tuesday evening rush hour due to a "switch issue" in the eastern portion of the busiest transit hub in the United States, an Amtrak spokesman told Patch. The issue, which Amtrak is working on repairing, has limited access to the East River tunnels for Amtrak, the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit, the spokesman said.

Long Island Railroad customers should expect delays and cancelations, a railroad spokesman told Patch. LIRR commuters are being advised to take the subway to Atlantic Terminal and catch the railroad there.

The switch issue is not related to the "A interlocking" infrastructure — located on the west side of the station — that Amtrak has identified as the main culprit of deteriorating service at Penn Station, an Amtrak spokesman told Patch. Amtrak will launch a massive infrastructure repair plan to replace the "A interlocking" system entirely on July 10. The plan calls for obstructive weekday work that will alter service from July 10-Sept. 1.

Commuters were treated to a rush hour bomb squad investigation at Penn Station on Monday night.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images