New Long Island Rail Road President Phillip Eng greeted commuters at the Mineola train station Tuesday morning, amid a myriad of delays and cancellations caused by Amtrak switch trouble at Penn Station.
The problem has since been resolved, but caused problems during the height of the morning commute.
Eng, a Smithtown resident, says he rides the rails every day as part of his two-hour commute and knows all too well how a rough ride can affect the day.
"I know how important it is to the riders. This is for many people what kicks off their day, it sets the tone for them. So we need to make sure we set a positive tone for them," says Eng.
Eng will be at Penn Station for the evening rush.
The change at the top of the railroad comes after the LIRR had the worst on-time performance in 18 years for the month of January.