Penn Station

Amtrak Service Briefly Halted at Penn Station Due to Reported Track Fire; NJ Transit Delayed

NJ Transit was reporting delays of up to 45 minutes from Penn Station because of single tracking in one of the Hudson River Tunnels

What to Know

  • A reported fire near the tracks of Penn Station briefly halted Amtrak service, and may have led to long delays for NJ Transit
  • Amtrak service was up and running about a half hour later, while NJ Transit was still dealing with delays up to 45 minutes
  • The delays come just one day after power problems brought rail traffic to a halt Wednesday afternoon

A reported fire near the tracks of Penn Station briefly halted Amtrak service into and out of the midtown station Thursday night, according to the transit company.

Amtrak Northeast tweeted out the alert just before 7 p.m., saying all service was stopped. Service resumed about a half hour later.

NJ Transit was reporting delays of up to 45 minutes from Penn Station because of single tracking in one of the Hudson River Tunnels. Social media users posted photos showing the departure board with almost all trains facing delays.

The delays come just one day after power problems brought rail traffic to a halt Wednesday afternoon at New York Penn Station, creating commuter nightmares for riders on NJ Transit and Amtrak.

At one point Wednesday morning there were three trains stuck in the Hudson River tunnels on the New Jersey side, with no power and passengers complaining of stifling heat.

Amtrak had one overhead power issue that stopped traffic between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., and then a second issue just after noon that stopped trains against for about 15 minutes. There was also a separate transformer issue that may or may not have been related, but that caused delays.

For the latest transit updates, see the tweets below.

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