Have you heard the one about New Jersey commuters being left stranded, waiting a long time to get home thanks to a service disruption at New York-Penn Station?
Of course you have. Because NJ Transit has sent the same message out to passengers four of the past five weekdays, dating back to last Tuesday.
On Monday, the transit agency said just before 7 p.m. that rail service in and out of the Manhattan hub was suspended "due to Amtrak overhead wire issues" in a Hudson River tunnel. The service suspension lasted less than an hour, but riders looking to get home would still face delays of up to 60 minutes, for much of the evening. Delays did not start lessening until after 9:30 p.m.
NJ Transit said rail tickets would be cross-honored by bus and PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken and the 33rd Street station in Manhattan. See more alternate routes here.
For its part, Amtrak said that all trains traveling between NY-Penn Station and Philadelphia would face delays due to traffic on the rails stemming from the overhead power issues. All Amtrak service was restored by 10 p.m., but residual delays of 30-60 minutes could be expected for the rest of the night
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NJ Transit citing Amtrak overhead wire issues is nothing new. It was the same reason given for suspensions at different times during the day on Friday, including amid the morning rush. Amtrak attributed that mess to a disabled commuter train in Penn Station that was set to be out of commission for hours.
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A day before that, on Thursday, a power issue caused a lengthy disruption of both NJ Transit and Amtrak heading into the evening rush hour. Amtrak had previously said that service suspension, which lasted hours, was caused by a "malfunctioning circuit breaker" that caused a loss of power on the tracks between Newark Penn Station and Newark Union Station. Amtrak and NJ Transit later said a brush fire in Secaucus had also caused issues for trains.
Earlier in the week, Amtrak had warned the high temperatures the region is facing could require trains to operate at lower speeds and result in afternoon delays of up to 60 minutes.
