New Jersey transit service was disrupted again Monday evening, with travel to and from Pennsylvania Station suspended for nearly an hour due to a report of a problem with overhead wires Amtrak train in one of the Hudson River tunnels.
Service was suspended at 6:37 p.m. and resumed shortly before 7:30 p.m., but trains were still subject to delays of up to 60 minutes, a New Jersey Transit spokesperson said.
It was at least the fifth disturbance for New Jersey commuters in the past two months, and the third in less than a week. Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains share the portion of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between New York and Trenton, New Jersey, so problems with Amtrak tracks or cables immediately affect New Jersey service Transit.
Trains were held in place for about 25 minutes or, in some cases, returned to Penn Station, according to a New Jersey Transit customer service representative.
An Amtrak spokesperson said service was suspended as a precaution after a report of problems with the overhead wires that provide electricity that powers trains entering and leaving Penn Station. The inspection revealed no problems, he said, and so service resumed after about half an hour.
During the shutdown, trains were diverted to Hoboken, New Jersey, and New Jersey Transit train tickets were accepted for private bus company and PATH train trips to Newark, Hoboken, New Jersey and Midtown Manhattan.
Inside Penn Station, about 100 travelers placed their backpacks and bags on the ground and stared at the screens.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience,” a robotic voice shouted over the speakers.
Amanda Marvin and her three children had just arrived in New York from Kansas City and after a day in Manhattan were heading to their Airbnb in Newark.
But the family was temporarily stuck at Penn Station. “I have no idea what Plan B is,” Ms. Marvin said. Still, she was in good spirits, giving New York a “thumbs up.”
But for some commuters who rely on the service daily, the latest delays have been extremely frustrating. “On days like this, when everything stops, things become extremely exhausting,” said Kurt Switala, who works in finance in Manhattan and lives in Montclair, New Jersey. He said Amtrak needs to fix the system. “It is necessary to carry out long-delayed repairs. »
Rishi Alok, who travels to the city from Middlesex County, said delays happen frequently, usually a few times a week. Each delay adds about an hour and a half to his journey. But the delays are so common that Mr Alok said he no longer gets angry. “You get used to it,” he said.
The disruptions that occurred Monday evening follow others significant delays during peak hours at Penn Station last month.
On Thursday, one of the hottest days this year, an afternoon power outage left thousands of travelers stranded at Penn Station and on non-air-conditioned trains. A broken down train caused delays of up to an hour entering and exiting Penn Station on Friday morning.
Last Tuesday morning, New Jersey Transit service entering and exiting Penn Station was suspended for about an hour and all Amtrak trains passing through the station were delayed due to overhead wire problems and a commuter train stalled on the tracks, train officials said.
The disruption ruined the morning commute for thousands of New Jersey residents as delays rippled across the state’s various rail lines.
Service was also interrupted in May when an overhead wire used for traffic signals fell and struck a cable in Kearny, New Jersey, that supplies electricity to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains. Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains were stopped in both directions between Penn Station and Newark, and delays reached more than four hours.
Roger Harris, president of Amtrak, solved the problem of incessant disruptions and delays in a letter to customers last week in which it apologized and said a “unique combination of events” caused the major disruptions along the Northeast Corridor.
“Whatever the causes that led to these delays, you deserve better service and we are committed to providing it,” he said. “We are reviewing each incident with the goal of improving your future travels, while continuing to advance unprecedented investments that modernize and strengthen the Northeast Corridor.”
Patrick McGeehan reports contributed.
