New York commuters begin 'summer of hell'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Commuters in the U.S.'s financial capital began to face long-feared delays at the busiest train station in the county Monday.

Track repairs at the famed Pennsylvania Station will result in the "summer of hell" until they are completed in early September, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned.

Pennsylvania Station is the central hub for all trains coming to Manhattan, and repairs are expected to cut trains from New Jersey and Long Island alone by about 20 percent.

About 16,000 New Jersey Transit riders are expected to be diverted daily to Hoboken, New Jersey -- across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

For many coming into the station Monday morning the commute was not as bad as had been expected.

"Contrary to what you may think, there is a NOT a sign saying 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here' at #PennStation," @JMartinezNYC wrote on Twitter.

Still, for others the higher-than-normal congestion at the transit hub was an opportunity for New Yorkers to exercise their trademark glibness.

"Penn Station smelled like smoke and burning metal this morning," @GuyGardino opined on Twitter using shorthand for the station. "Either a fire or Satan reclaiming his property."

"On the eve of #summerofhell trash is on fire at Penn Station," @Laura_Figueroa wrote. "Sounds about right."

New York has been beset by widespread delays to its heavily-trafficked rail systems prompting Cuomo to issue a state of emergency for the rail system late last month.

Cuomo's order was matched by a pledge to provide $1 billion for improvements, and fast-tracking the process the Metropolitan Transportation Authority uses to purchase equipment.