The Wednesday evening commuting nightmare on Amtrak and NJ Transit trains running on the busy Northeast Corridor was blamed on one wire, Amtrak officials said Thursday. The downed wire resulted in service being suspended and left passengers stranded at Penn Station New York.
The suspension of service prompted an angry letter from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to Amtrak management and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Murphy wrote that he is fed up with constant Amtrak infrastructure failures.
“Our senior teams will meet in the next few days on next steps on a comprehensive emergency plan,” Murphy wrote in the letter to Amtrak Board chairman Tony Coscia. Murphy also blasted the agency for three infrastructure failures while NJ Transit pays Amtrak $100 million annually to maintain the corridor.
“A signal wire came into contact with the catenary (power wire), causing a blowout,” said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesperson, told NJ Advance Media. “The cause for what brought the wires down is still under investigation.”
The wire problem happened at Swift Interlocking in Kearny, Abrams said. That is a busy junction where the NEC and Morris & Essex lines from and to New York separate. Permanent repairs have been completed, he said.
Service was suspended on the North Jersey Coast Line between New York and Long Branch, while Northeast Corridor service was suspended north of MetroPark, and Raritan Valley Line service was also suspended. NJ Transit brought in buses to transport Raritan Valley Line riders between Newark Penn Station and Cranford station, where trains were running.
The service suspension turned the evening rush hour in to a meltdown with lines of riders at Penn Station Newark and crowds in New York’s Penn Station. Riders stranded on trains caught in transit by the power disruption complained about stifling heat onboard.
Amtrak owns and operates the tracks along the Northeast Corridor line between New York and Trenton. Problems along the most heavily traveled train line nearly always impact other NJ Transit lines.
The latest delays and cancellations come weeks after NJ Transit’s board of directors voted to raise fares 15% starting July 1, which sparked some outrage and suggestions by some commuters on social media of a boycott by refusing to show tickets Thursday.
While service was restored for the Thursday morning commute, commuters were warned by NJ Transit to expect delays and canceled trains. NJ Transit reported six trains were canceled on the Morris & Essex lines, the Coast Line and Northeast Corridor.
Coast Line delays were compounded by a vehicle stuck on the tracks in Bradley Beach, according to an NJ Transit alert. NJ Transit reported that service was reporting running on or close to schedule at 10:30 a.m.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
