The following is via WABC

Two governors are pushing to privatize Penn Station as lawmakers planned Friday to tour the hub to see why commuters’ trips have become so awful.

With massive commuter delays becoming a daily nightmare at Penn station, commuters are not the only ones who have run out of patience.

On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a joint letter declaring they have lost all faith in Amtrak. “A professional, qualified, private station operator must be brought in to take over the repairs and manage this entire process going,” the letter read.

If Amtrak agrees to contract out the running of Penn Station, the governors of New York and New Jersey also want the right to approve any future, private contractor.

State Legislative Oversight Chairman Bob Gordon (D-Bergen/Passaic) and Assembly Judiciary Chair Jack McKeon (D-Essex/Morris) planned to visit Penn Friday on what they are calling a “fact-finding tour.”

They will meet with Amtrak CEO Charles “Wick” Moorman and New Jersey Transit officials, and tour the station and the Sandy-damaged tunnels to assess plans to shut down up to five tracks this summer for major repairs.

“We will be asking questions and expecting answers, and we will want a full and detailed explanation about what both these agencies plan to do to make things better with as little inconvenience as possible for commuters,” McKeon said.

On Thursday, leaders of NJT, Long Island Rail Road, and Amtrak attended a state committee hearing about the improvement plan, announced in April, to replace tracks and other equipment at Penn.

Amtrak runs and operates Penn Station, which is home to NJT, LIRR and Amtrak trains. New Jersey and New York pay Amtrak $150 million a year.

Almost a quarter of a million workers ride the LIRR every day. Another 75,000 take NJT trains. When Penn shuts down, disaster follows.

The improvements were announced following a series of delays and cancellations caused by derailments and other issues. Amtrak has acknowledged that the projects will require track closures and schedule changes for Amtrak, LIRR and NJT this summer.

(Source: WABC)