Power problems at Penn Station knocked out service to 12 of the 21 tracks there, and the latest transportation trouble came just hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency at the MTA.

The LIRR canceled numerous trains and delayed others due to the Amtrak power issue. 

The LIRR advised customers traveling to Hempstead, Long Beach, Far Rockaway and West Hempstead to take the downtown No. 2 and 3 subway to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn for eastbound LIRR service to those branches.

Tony Stabile, of South Farmingdale, says he followed those instructions thinking that would be the quickest way home. Then learned his 5:59 train was only running 10 minutes late.

At 7:40, the LIRR tweeted that it was "on or close" to schedule. 

The service disruption comes on the same day that the governor pledged another $1 billion to the MTA. He ordered newly-appointed MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota to conduct a top to bottom review of the agency and make immediate changes to speed up improvements. 

Some riders welcomed anything that would help keep the nation's largest commuter rail road moving.

"More money needs to be there," said commuter Larry Wolkow. "More people need to be working on the infrastructure. It's old. It needs to be updated."

Stabile says he plans to follow the governor's suggestion and avoid Penn Station as much as possible this summer, even if it means adding more than a half-hour to his nightly commute.

"I already bought my ticket for Atlantic Terminal," he says. "I'm not even going to dealt with it."

Other commuters who spoke with News 12 were similarly frustrated. 

Summer track work at Penn Station is set to begin July 10 and run through Sept. 1. The plan include a 20 percent peak service cut, and lots of anticipated disruptions and delays.