NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on Amtrak’s repair work at Penn Station (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s satisfied with Amtrak’s announcement that it is accelerating repair work at New York’s Penn Station starting next month.
Christie spoke Thursday in Jersey City. Earlier this month, the term-limited Republican governor said the state would withhold payments to Amtrak until a study verified that the rails were in a state of good repair.
Amtrak announced Thursday it would speed up repair work at the station that would continue through the summer.
Christie says the change was what he was looking for. He didn’t specify when the state would resume making payments, however, and added that he wanted to review the plan before continuing to pay.
The national passenger railroad also warned Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit passengers to expect disruptions.
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9:45 a.m.
Amtrak says it is accelerating repair work at New York’s Penn Station beginning next month, and warns of further delays for already beleaguered commuters.
Amtrak announced Thursday it will begin replacing tracks and signals in May and will continue the work through the summer.
Service on Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road will be affected, though Amtrak didn’t offer specifics.
Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman said the work was to have been spread out over a few years, but recent events prompted the decision to do the work more quickly.
Commuters have endured major delays several times in the last month due to derailments and electrical problems.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers from up and down the East Coast pass through the station each day.
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12:10 a.m.
Commuters who already have endured recent slowdowns at New York’s Penn Station are about to hear about more potential delays.
Amtrak has scheduled a conference call Thursday morning to discuss its plan to replace aging tracks and other equipment.
The move comes on the heels of several electrical and track failures at the station, the country’s busiest.
Two derailments and other problems since late March have caused chaos for hundreds of thousands of commuters in New Jersey and New York’s Long Island, as well as for travelers up and down the corridor between Boston and Washington.
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