After a disruptive morning for many commuters when NJ Transit suspended its service due to issues on the tracks, the service is now restored. Adam Harding reports.
NJ Transit is still reporting delays Tuesday evening hours after service into and out of New York's Penn Station was suspended.
The transit agency resumed operating service into and out of New York's Penn Station Tuesday morning, about an hour after it was entirely shut down due to Amtrak overhead wire issues and a disabled train in the transit hub.
Initial delays of an hour morphed into a full-on suspension by about 8 a.m., just as peak rush hour got underway. Around an hour later, NJ Transit said service had been restored with residual delays of up to 90 minutes.
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WATCH HEREBy lunchtime, NJ Transit said delays were down to about 45 minutes — and stayed at that length going into the evening rush hour. Just before 6 p.m., delays had shrunk to a half hour, but not long after, the agency said that there were delays up to 90 minutes "due to a disabled Amtrak train near Penn Station New York and earlier overhead wire issues."
NJ Transit said the cause of the issue that hampered service was still under investigation, as they worked with Amtrak to determine the root cause. They also the incidents and their impact were "clearly not acceptable" for customers to have to deal with.
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SIGN UP In a statement, the transit agency said they and Amtrak will "continue to meet regularly with key staff to clinically get to the root causes of these incidents. The goal is to ensure that all departments involved on both sides are fully aligned to reduce such occurrences while we work collectively on the longer-term work that needs to be prioritized on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to replace and upgrade their antiquated infrastructure."
Local
Midtown Direct trains were diverted to Hoboken for much of the day, but that ended in the evening. NJ Transit rail tickets and passes are being honored by NJ Transit bus, private carriers, and PATH at Newark, Hoboken and 33rd Street, NJ Transit said.
Passengers can find more information on alternate routes here. Many commuters were left to stand in the cramped Penn Station waiting room, which got warmer and warmer as an air conditioning system struggled to keep up with the blistering temperatures and additional body heat. The warmth may have been too much for one woman who fainted at the station, with fellow riders holding her upright and fanning her face.
The delays come just weeks before a price hike is set to go into effect at NJ Transit. And it's just the most recent occurrence of commuting headaches with the transit agency, as New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called Amtrak delays "incredibly disruptive" to residents, calling on Amtrak and NJ Transit to make infrastructure investments.
Commuters north and east of NYC were already being warning that they, too, could face delays this week. The MTA said that high temperatures could caused tracks to buckle and power systems to overheat, which could lead to problems along Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road. The MTA said it would have heat patrols inspecting tracks and welding crews on standby to quickly make any repairs.
