For the second day in a row, downed power lines have impacted rail service for both NJ Transit and Amtrak, with all trains “temporarily stopped” during the height of the evening rush hour — leaving thousands of riders stranded. NBC New York’s Checkey Beckford reports.
Thursday is panning out to be a nightmare for commuters as transit woes continue.
Mere hours after NJ Transit warned its passengers of ongoing delays and cancellations, PATH announced that because of a signal problem at around 11 a.m., its own service is disrupted with Hoboken to 33 Street and Hoboken to World Trade PATH train service suspended. However, by 12:30 p.m., PATH announced that service resumed.
In an ironic turn of events, during its partial service suspension, PATH advised passengers that NJ Transit "is cross honoring PATH at HOB, SEC, and NYPS" -- something that may prove tricky since NJ Transit has been plagued with service issues for the past couple of days.
NJ Transit advised that ongoing delays and cancellations in and out of New York Penn Station should be expected Thursday as a result of "residual impacts" from the service disruption caused by Amtrak's overhead wires Wednesday.
NJ Transit said rail service in and out of the midtown transit hub was suspended starting around 6:15 p.m. as a result of the power issues. Amtrak reported that its train service between Philadelphia and New York was "temporarily stopped."
"Due to downed wires there's a hold on service between Philadelphia and New York City," according to an Amtrak spokesperson, adding that the lines were down near Kearny.
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Amtrak said after 7 p.m. it expected "extensive delays as crews work to resolve this issue." Travel into and out of NY-Penn Station was suspended for nearly five hours, but around 10 p.m., an Amtrak spokesperson said trains were starting to move south.
A number of trains or services between New York and Philadelphia were canceled Wednesday night. Amtrak said it had returned to regular service by Thursday morning.
NJ Transit said rail tickets and passes would be cross-honored by PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken, and 33rd St. in Manhattan.
Travelers Tuesday morning faced similar delays due to another downed wire.
