Crowds outside Penn Station tonight. (Kaylee Osowski)
The switch problem that led to a complete service shutdown at Penn Station on the busiest travel night of the year has been resolved, Long Island Rail Road said.
The station — which was shut down due to overcrowding Wednesday — was later reopened.
Amtrak, NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road were all still down for about an hour.
At one point, thousands of people packed the streets outside the station.
Many of the stranded travelers included people leaving town for the holiday, lugging suitcases.
“Its the busiest travel day and they can’t get their s—t together!” fumed Ashley Smith, 28, a New Jersey bound Queens woman.
Twenty-five year old Anh Le was so desperate she contemplated calling a car service from Manhattan to New Jersey.
“It’s frustrating,” she said.
Officials said the problem stems from a power outage that effected Amtrak’s switches.