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Pope’s visit impacts travel for Lancaster commuters

More than one million people are expected to flood Philadelphia over the weekend for Pope Francis’ final few days in the United States. People all across the re...

More than one million people are expected to flood Philadelphia over the weekend for Pope Francis’ final few days in the United States.

People all across the region are now bracing themselves for major delays both on the roads and the railways.

We caught up with commuters at the Lancaster Amtrak station Friday morning who take the train into Philadelphia every day.

Melissa Hartranft lives in Ephrata, but works right outside of the city.

She said several of her fellow commuters were working from home or not working at all Friday because of the Pope’s visit.

Hartranft said several companies and some colleges surrounding the downtown area decided to close for the day to avoid the massive crowds that are expected.

As for the businesses that decided to remain open, she said those employees were forced to make other plans.

"Some of my fellow commuters are actually there for the weekend because they have jobs where they couldn't just have the day off and so they had to get a hotel and they're planning on just being held up in their hotels rooms until Tuesday, just kind of walking to the office, back and forth as they need to, and then otherwise just trying to stay out of the chaos,” she said.

Amtrak has added extra trains and seats to help keep up with the demand this weekend.

However, starting Friday, especially at the 30th Street Station in Philly, people should prepare for longer lines, tighter security as well as some changes to the boarding procedures.

Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia September 26 and 27.

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