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More Drama At Penn Station As Yet Another Train Derails, Making It The Third One This Year

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 02:24 PST, Jul 7, 2017

Imagine if a city as big as New York City only had one airport, and that airport was LaGuardia Airport in its current state of construction. Take that mental image, apply it to trains, and you have the disaster that is Penn Station. As the only major thoroughfare for downstate and New Jersey residents to get into Manhattan to work, any sort of drama on the tracks can be nothing but disastrous for hundreds of thousands of people.

And the Penn Station drama continued again this morning as word of a New Jersey Transit train containing more than 100 people derailed on the way into the station.

According to The New York Daily News, this latest bit of Penn Station drama comes just days before massive construction was set to begin — construction that will last until September 1st, at the very least.

“Days before massive repairs are set to snarl commutes at the transit hub, an NJ Transit train carrying approximately 180 people derailed Thursday around 9:10 p.m., officials and witnesses said. One car on the Penn-bound train came off the tracks as it neared the hub, according to NJ Transit spokeswoman Lisa Torbic. There were no immediate reports of injuries according to FDNY officials.”

Additional news reports from CBS Local about the derailment at Penn Station suggest that, for the time being, all service to Manhattan was suspended, and passengers were encouraged to find other methods into the city.

But there was a bit of good news as the derailment was considered a “slow speed” derailment, meaning that the train wasn’t going at full velocity. This, most likely, was the reason that no one was hurt as a result of the derailment.

“Midtown Direct trains are being redirected to Hoboken. Amtrak said customers heading to and from Penn Station should expect extensive delays. Passengers were advised to call (800) USA-RAIL for additional information. Long Island Rail Road trains were not affected.”

Twitter users who were stuck in the so-called “Summer of Hell” immediately took to the social media site to post their photos and videos of the disaster zone waiting for them.

The NJ Transit, for its part, took to Twitter to let their riders know that the buses and PATH trains would cross-honor all transit tickets for those affected by the derailment.

But not everyone is handling the situation the way they should, according to some residents of the Tri-State Area and some politicians who hope to unseat New York City mayor Bill DeBlasio. The New York Post is reporting that DeBlasio is under fire because instead of handling the matter the way they thought he should, he’s over at the G20 summit in Germany to protest.

“Presumptive Republican challenger Nicole Malliotakis accused de Blasio of abandoning pressing issues in the Big Apple to pursue his progressive agenda in Europe. “Unbelievable. Instead of jet-setting around the world, he should be here doing his job,” said the Staten Island assemblywoman. “A police officer was murdered, street homelessness has skyrocketed and people continue to get delayed on the trains.”

What do you think of the latest Penn Station drama? Leave your thoughts about the latest Penn Station news — and the way the people in charge are handling it — in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

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