Hoboken station Photo: Scott Gurian

(Hoboken, NJ -- Scott Gurian, New Jersey Public Radio) The main waiting room of New Jersey Transit's Hoboken Terminal re-opened just in time for the evening commute on Monday, just shy of three months after Sandy raged through the region.

But many commuters were not impressed.  Joanne Hempel was frustrated that the terminal's regular ticket booths, news stands and bathrooms remain closed, forcing commuters like herself to use bathrooms on their trains or in a row of unheated port-o-johns. Another commuter said he wished the waiting room had been open last week, so he'd have had a warm place to sit, but he added, "I'll take what I can get."

Temporary ticket booths at Hoboken Terminal (photo: Scott Gurian)

New Jersey Transit's Executive Director Jim Weinstein did his best to apologize, as he handed out coupons for free coffee and thanked riders for their patience with the limited rail service and continuing terminal repairs.

"We know this has been a trying time," Weinstein said. "The men and women of New Jersey Transit are working as hard as we can possibly work to get the system fully restored," he said, adding, "We've still got a ways to go, but we're getting there."

He said the re-opening of the historic terminal's waiting room was a sign of "great progress."