Long Island Rail Road says a combination of stuck trains, lingering effects from last week's blizzards and the sheer volume of the evening rush created the nightmare conditions commuters faced trying to get home from Penn Station Tuesday night.
Delays were reported across all LIRR branches, and commuters were packed wall to wall inside Penn Station as they waited for trains to start moving. Police had to temporarily block entrances in an attempt to ease congesiton.
MTA LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena told NBC4 New York in a statement Wednesday that the problems began when a vehicle became stuck on the Long Beach branch tracks, preventing some trains from getting back to Penn Station in time for their scheduled turnaround for eastbound rush hour.
Then at the peak of the rush, an eastbound Great Neck train broke down at Penn Station, putting Track 21 out of commission, Arena said. There were also lingering effects on equipment from last week's blizzard.
"The fact that these events unfolded so quickly making it difficult to provide customers with accurate information as we worked to address the problems," he said. "The LIRR is sorry customers were inconvenienced but we worked to restore service as soon as possible."
Frustrated passengers took to social media to vent during the stalled rush hour Tuesday. One person griped on Twitter: "Great job, one stalled train = evening rush x 1000 #lirr #majorfail"
Another said: "Here we go again! 1 train w/ equipment problems means we cripple the whole system. How has the #LIRR not been dismantled? #WeDeserveBetter"
When trains started moving again, people started rushing en masse onto the platforms, and one man "fell straight down, split his forehead open," according to a witness on Twitter. He told NBC 4 New York it happened when hundreds of people began cramming into the corridor. Paramedics responded immediately, he said.
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The situation wasn't much better inside the cars. Some people were forced to take other trains, and photos showed people standing up and packed into the aisles. And even then, trains didn't move for over a half-hour, one rider reported.
Many riders also vented about the lack of updates and announcements.
The nightmare wait comes the same day transit officials announced that ridership on the LIRR ticked up to 87.6 million in 2015, breaking a modern record.
MTA Chairman Thomas F. Prendergast attributed to the growing ridership in part to a "strengthening regional economy, healthier downtowns around the region and a new generation of millenials who value public transportation."
He also said customers are responding to improvements like more frequent trains, on-time performance and more real-time information.
To which riders on Twitter sarcastically responded: "On time performance & real time information? Which transit system is this report referencing?," and "Breaking records and the entire system #LIRR #FailRoad"
