NJ Transit and Amtrak service at Penn Station suspended again

Friday marked the second day of rail disruptions: Amtrak trains to and from New York City were delayed or canceled, and service on the NJ Transit commuter line was suspended during the morning rush hour.

Several Amtrak trains scheduled to run between New York City and Upstate New York have been canceled. the railway said on Xand trains from Pennsylvania to New York ended in Philadelphia.

Amtrak blamed the disruption on a “stalled commuter train” at New York’s Penn Station. “We are working with our partners at NJT to investigate the cause of this morning’s disruption,” said Amtrak spokesman W. Kyle Anderson.

There could be delays of several hours for trains running, Anderson said.

NJ Transit, meanwhile, appeared to blame Amtrak for shutting down its own service to and from Penn Station during the morning rush hour on Friday.

“Train service to and from New York Penn Station is suspended due to AMTRAK overhead line issues at New York Penn Station,” said the website of the commuter line, which shares tracks with Amtrak.

Service resumed around 11 a.m. with a 45-minute delay, NJ Transit said.

Major train delays and scorching heat made for nightmarish commuter traffic on Thursday evening.

“I’m disgusted because it’s always something different,” said Denise Wooten, who commutes to work at Penn Station from Montclair, New Jersey. “Delays. It’s been going on for too long. Every time you turn around. I just want to go home.”

When NJ Transit and Amtrak riders arrived at Penn Station on Thursday, they found that power outages had caused delays on the route from New Haven to Philadelphia.

An Amtrak spokesman said two things were responsible for the disruption: wildfires in Secaucus, New Jersey, and a faulty circuit breaker that caused a power outage on the tracks between New York and Newark Penn stations.

“I ride the train every day, but the last couple of weeks NJ Transit has been really bad. I mean, we’ve had very poor service,” said Thurston Green, who rides Amtrak five days a week.

To make matters worse, temperatures climbed above 30 degrees on Thursday, marking the hottest day of the year so far. And there was little relief underground.

“Look at me. I’m sweating, it’s hot. It’s too much,” Wooten said.

Amtrak warned commuters Thursday afternoon that trains may have to run at lower speeds due to high temperatures, causing delays of up to 60 minutes between noon and 7:30 p.m. for the rest of the week.

Power was restored at 5:30 p.m., but Amtrak warned passengers that there would be congestion along the tracks.

Commuters said they would like to see more accountability from transit officials in New York and New Jersey.

“They have to fix the trains. We keep spending so much money, $5 a ticket. There are 365 days in a year. How much money are you spending here? Where is the money going?” asked Shawn Mendez, who was on his way to an event in Newark.

A heat warning has been issued for the city from Friday afternoon; temperatures are expected to reach 36 degrees.