http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/nyregion/new-jersey-transit-crash-hoboken-commute.html 2016-09-30 15:50:39 In Aftermath of Train Crash, Wary New Jersey Commuters Make the Best of It Thursday’s disaster called upon commuters to be sympathetic and realistic regarding the altered routines on Friday. === Many residents of the New York region woke up on Friday to long and complicated commutes in the aftermath of the catastrophic train crash that killed one and injured more than 100 at the Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey, which delivered a blow to the region’s busy transportation system on Thursday. At the Secaucus junction, people heading to work walked and jogged, with scarves, hoods and umbrellas drawn tight against a gray and blustery New Jersey morning. Commuters, many of whom already had endured travel times of an hour or more, had braced for trips that would be significantly longer than they were accustomed to. “Hopefully the boss will be understanding,” said Donald Pantelli, who had given himself an additional two hours to make it to work. Though he had planned to catch a bus to Hoboken, Mr. Pantelli found himself rerouted to Jersey City. “It is what it is. We have to make these adjustments in life,” he said. At Penn Station Thursday evening, Daniel Mesnick had given himself a similar cushion, having left his job about two hours early to try to dodge the madness, he said. The horrific crash occurred during the busy morning commute when the train sped into the station, failed to stop, and traveled up onto the concourse and into the wall of the 100-year-old train station. The disaster gave some commuters a chance to be sympathetic regarding the altered routines on Friday. “My @NJTRANSIT train has been turned into a local this morning. It’s an understandable inconvenience,” Doug Matthews Some were frustrated by the unpredictability. Many trains on the One New Jersey Transit police officer at the Secaucus station characterized the traffic as “moderate” compared to an average day, though he said the station may yet get busier. And there were indications from some commuters that travel times were not as bad as were expected. The crash, and the stark images it generated, represented a commuter’s worst nightmare. A 34-year-old woman, Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, who was standing on the platform when the train came barreling in, was killed. Investigators, still looking into what caused the crash, recovered an event recorder from the train on Thursday night, The Associated Press reported. When Denise Albert boarded the train at Essex, a New Jersey Transit worker was looking for people who were on the train that crashed yesterday, to interview them. A few raised their hands. “I’m worried about when things will be back to normal,” she said. Many riders said that they were undeterred. “It’s shocking, but mass transit is still the best way to go,” said John Nestorson, who normally rides the Pascack Valley line to Hoboken on his way to Manhattan. Today, his journey would take two additional transfers.