New Jersey Transit and Amtrak warned commuters during the Thursday morning rush hour of cancellations and delays after a fallen power line left thousands stranded on the tracks.
“As a result of last night’s service interruption due to Amtrak’s overhead line problems, customers should be aware that train delays and cancellations may occur today due to crew shortages and residual impacts from equipment that is out of place. ” NJ Transit said in the X.
The disruptions began just after 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday when a power line fell in Kearny, New Jersey, completely halting service on the Northeast Corridor. According to the New York Times.
Rush hour commuters were forced to evacuate New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station as crews were dispatched to remove the tracks.
Crews restored power to one of the tracks around 9:30 p.m., but minimal travel was still underway as the outage caused problems with travel to other stops along the Northeast Corridor.
“This incident affected trains operating as far as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Customers traveling through the affected areas should expect significant delays to remain due to speed restrictions and rail congestion,” Amtrak said.
Several trains departing from or bound for New York were canceled, including those in Philadelphia, Metropark and Trenton.
“We were supposed to leave at 5:30 but all the trains are delayed so now we’re just waiting to see,” said one traveller at New York’s Pennsylvania Station. told Fox 5.
Frustrated commuters could be seen sitting on steps or gathering around timetable boards waiting for hopeful news.
“There’s no communication, everyone’s just walking around, there’s no signal, my wife won’t answer the phone. It’s a terrible day,” another commuter told the outlet.
One disgruntled commuter blamed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy for the delays, saying an expected 15% fare increase overlooked a much-needed rail restoration.
“If you’re going to raise fares by 15 percent, you need to do your job and communicate with Amtrak. Amtrak needs to communicate with everybody because they keep saying trains are delayed.”
“No, if someone waits here for an hour, it will be interrupted. That’s ridiculous,” said the traveler.
New Jersey Transit has since resumed limited service on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coastline departing from Penn Station.
The Raritan Valley Line remained suspended the next day during the evening commute, and Midtown Direct was detoured to Hoboken.
NJ Transit rail tickets and passes are interoperable with NJ Transit, private bus companies, and PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken, and 33rd Street-New York.
The significant delays remain as the New York region prepares for early travel for Memorial Day weekend and President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Crotona Park on Thursday.
