Commuters' Friday ride much calmer
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Commuters had a relatively uneventful commute Friday morning after a disastrous commute on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North all day Thursday.
The LIRR had scattered westbound delays averaging around 15 minutes into Jamaica station Friday morning. Trains were moving at a reduced speed due to signal problems east of the station.
Around 10 a.m., the LIRR was operating on or close to schedule through Jamaica.
On Thursday, LIRR westbound service was suspended between Jamaica and Penn Station, and Woodside and Penn Station, on the Port Washington Branch for the first half of the evening rush due to an Amtrak problem in Penn Station. There were delays and cancellations across all lines throughout the evening commute because the third rail power was out on 12 tracks at Penn Station.
The evening delays come on the heels of an even rougher morning commute, when an LIRR train lost power outside the East River tunnels due to an Amtrak third rail problem. That led to residual delays throughout the afternoon.
Seventeen trains were canceled or rerouted, and trains traveling into Penn Station were delayed an average of 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, overhead wire problems near Cos Cob caused massive delays on the New Haven line of Metro-North and prompted train cancellations and combinations for the evening commute, as well as anticipated delays of up to 30 minutes and crowded conditions.
