patco ceo john hason

CEO of the Delaware River Port Authority and President of PATCO, John Hanson, answers questions from PATCO customers during a town hall-style public meeting, at the Collingswood Community Center, regarding the ongoing Benjamin Franklin Bridge track rehabilitation project, Thursday, May 8, 2014. (Staff Photo by Tim Hawk/South Jersey Times)

(Tim Hawk)

COLLINGSWOOD – Rush hour commuters who use the PATCO line over the Ben Franklin Bridge can expect to see half-hour gaps in service for two months following Memorial Day, as crews shut down south-side track as part of the effort to replace all six miles of rail over the bridge.

Delaware River Port Authority CEO and PATCO President John Hanson on Thursday addressed a crowd of about two dozen residents at the Collingswood Community Center, many of whom expressed anger and frustration with the delays and lack of communication they have experienced so far.

They were not happy to hear that delays are only going to get worse, and the trains are only going to get more crowded this summer.

“How is this going to be safe, with packed trains with nothing to hold onto, in the summer when it’s going to be 100 degrees outside?” asked Lynn Lukaszewski, a Cherry Hill resident, who called out her question during Hanson’s presentation. “And there’s no communication right now with riders.”

According to Hanson, the south-side track on the bridge will be completely shut down for 60 days after Memorial Day in order to replace the tracks, which the DRPA CEO described as being “at the end of their useful life.”

During that time, both east- and west-bound trains will share a single track.

When that work in completed, crews will then close the north-side track for 50 days, to replace those rails. Commuters can expect 15-minute gaps in service during that time.

The effort to replace the PATCO lines across the Ben Franklin Bridge is part of a two-year, $103 million project, which will also upgrade electronic signals, power wires and communication cable.

“There will be schedule changes, service delays, crowded trains and lane closures on the Ben Franklin Bridge,” read one of Hanson’s slides, in bright red font.

Hanson acknowledged the pain the work will likely cause, but added that the work is necessary to avoid a complete shutdown of the PATCO line across the bridge. He stated a total of $1.2 million has been used to keep the tracks “safe and serviceable” up to this point. However, the tracks are unlikely to last more than another year if they aren’t replaced.

“If we can’t get this done, we won’t be arguing about delays and crowded cars; we’re talking about how you’re going to get to the city, because we would have to shut the line down,” he said. “I want to make it clear that I will not compromise safety. It will be safe.”

According to Hanson, PATCO will deploy additional safety officers on each platform, and that PATCO employees will have radios and be able to relay information to riders. He added that the DRPA is currently in talks with Verizon and AT&T to extend service to underground PATCO stations. The authority has also contacted Comcast to discuss the possibility of introducing Wi-Fi service.

Approximately 40,000 people ride the PATCO line each day — about 10.5 million each year. Hanson estimated the track outages across the bridge would likely result in PATCO temporarily losing up to 3 percent of its ridership.

“I know most of you aren’t happy,” said Hanson. “I know. I know. We’re not happy either, but this is the work that needs to get done, and we’re going to do it in the quickest, safest way possible.”

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Contact staff writer Jason Laday at 856-686-3628 or jladay@southjerseymedia.com.