Thursday morning's freezing cold temperatures made for a challenging commute for PATH customers.
Track speed restrictions, signal failures and an outage at the beginning of rush hour created long backups and aggravated already dangerous conditions for people trying to get to work.
PATH riders have learned to expect delays during bad weather as the system has become overcrowded in recent years. But with wind chills as low as minus-15, many customers took to social media to scold the organization for its apparent lack of planning.
"Do you realize that it's dangerous to be outside for any amount of time today?" asked one rider via Twitter. "Do you realize that Harrison is an outdoor platform? There are so many people that [were] waiting on the sidewalk."
Many PATH customers pointed out that by now the Port Authority should be able to prepare for the problems that come to the rails when cold weather arrives.
Last year, the Port Authority announced plans to improve PATH to Bring Cellular Service to All Stations and when trains will arrive. But those plans didn't do freezing PATH riders much good Thursday.
Other commuters expressed frustration that NJ Transit conductors weren't all aware that cross-honoring was in effect to try an alleviate some of the PATH backups.
But PATH should have learned its lesson by now, said another rider. Many can't take advantage of cross-honoring at all. When one of the PATH's Manhattan stops is closed, the Port Authority provides other means to inconvenienced riders.
That's not the case for commuters at the exposed Harrison platform, however. They had to stand and wait, unsure of when the next train was coming or what the hard-to-hear announcements were trying to communicate.
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