What to Know
- Five people were taken into custody by the FBI Sunday for questioning after a traffic stop on the Verrazano Bridge
- As that was happening, a suspicious package was discovered at the Elizabeth train station in New Jersey
- Trains were halted between EWR and Elizabeth, halting traffic on the busy North East Corridor ahead of the morning rush
Commuting will be a struggle Monday for thousands of NJ Transit and Amtrak commuters as authorities continue their investigations into a series of explosions and incendiary devices in New York City and New Jersey over the weekend.
New Jersey Transit warned trains on multiple lines were subject to delays of up to an hour amid the ongoing police investigation.
Service on all Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines resumed Monday morning. It had been suspended in both directions late Sunday night after a device found inside a bag near the NJ Transit station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, exploded.
NJ Transit said commuters should expect residual delays and service changes as the investigation in Elizabeth continues.
All New Jersey-bound Amtrak trains were also held at New York Penn Station after the bag was discovered in Elizabeth, hampering travel on the busy North East Corridor. Trains began moving out of New York Penn around 5:30 a.m.
Amtrak said that Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other services will operate Monday with some schedule modifications. The railroad service said that passengers should expect cancellations and delays throughout the day.
In Manhattan, West 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues reopened by 9 p.m. Monday after police spent the weekend investigating the blast there. Other roads that were initially closed for the investigation -- including parts of Sixth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, and West 14th to West 23rd streets -- were reopened earlier.
PATH trains are skipping 23rd Street in Manhattan. PATH will cross-honor NJT passengers at NWK, HOB, WTC and 33rd Street stations.
Leaked video of the initial explosion in #Chelsea pic.twitter.com/nBMbh7iBCl
— REGATED (@regated) September 18, 2016
The 1 train has resumed making normal stops at its 23rd and 28th street stations, though the northeast stairway at the 23rd Street station remains closed, according to @NYCTSubway. The E and F trains are also stopping again at 23rd Street stations.
Due to the 23rd Street closure, MTA buses M5, M7, M23 and X1 are detoured in both directions.
The news of the suspicious bag at the Elizabeth station in New Jersey was first reported late Sunday night, around the same time that the FBI said it had taken five people from Elizabeth, New Jersey into custody for questioning after a traffic stop on the Verrazano Bridge.
Local
The FBI confirmed that the 8:45 p.m. Verrazano traffic stop was part of an investigation into Saturday's bombing in Manhattan that injured 29 people. None of them have been charged with a crime and the investigation is ongoing.
The devices in Elizabeth apparently looked similar to what detonated in Seaside Park, New Jersey, on Saturday morning ahead of a race. No one was injured in the Seaside Park explosion.
