Delays on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Trigger Huge Lines, Crowds at Penn Station

Delays on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor caused massive crowds and long lines to form at New York's Penn Station — right at the peak of rush hour.

The rail service announced around 3 p.m. Monday that all trains in the Trenton area were being held due to a fire on an Amtrak work train just east of Hamilton Station. Shortly after 4 p.m., NJ Transit announced that all Northeast Corridor traffic between Penn Station and Trenton would be suspended.

Service on the line finally resumed with delays up to 90 minutes just after 5:15 p.m. Amtrak said all train traffic holds were lifted and trains would be begin moving in the order which they were scheduled. Some trains were running with modified schedules after cancellations.

Customers were were told to use other lines on NJ Transit where their tickets and passes would be cross honored, or use alternate transportation. 

Rail tickets and passes were honored by Coach USA from Port Authority Bus Terminal to New Brunswick and Princeton, as well as private carrier and NJ Transit buses.

Photos from the scene of the fire showed a work train near the Hamilton station with tall plumes of black smoke billowing up in the air, and flames coming out from sides of one of the cars.

There were no reports of injuries. 

As for commuters going to Penn Station trying to get home at rush hour, photos showed big crowds both at the 7th and 8th Avenue sides. The horde of people at the NJ Transit lobby was so large, getting through the lobby to the train platforms seemed like a daunting task.

Crowds on the 8th Avenue side seemed just as packed into that station, with customers left waiting and watching the departure monitors to see if their trains would be delayed.