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N.J. Transit Train Derails, Causing Widespread Commuting Delays N.J. Transit Train Derails, Causing Widespread Commuting Delays
(35 minutes later)
A New Jersey Transit train leaving Manhattan derailed entering a tunnel under the Hudson River on Thursday evening, bringing the commute to a screeching halt. A packed New Jersey Transit train leaving Manhattan derailed entering a tunnel under the Hudson River on Thursday evening, bringing the commute to a screeching, and maddening, halt.
Thousands of commuters were stuck in Pennsylvania Station and on trains about to depart for New Jersey. New Jersey Transit said on Twitter that it was a “minor slow-speed derailment” near the station and advised commuters to switch to the PATH train from Manhattan to Hoboken Terminal. Thousands of commuters were stuck in Pennsylvania Station and on trains about to depart for the suburbs as all train traffic across the river was suspended. New Jersey Transit said on Twitter that it was a “minor slow-speed derailment” near the station and advised commuters to switch to the PATH train from Manhattan to Hoboken Terminal
There were no immediate reports of injuries. One rider on the derailed train said it was a 6:10 p.m. departure on the Montclair-Boonton line. She said that two cars of the train were being evacuated. The train, running on the Montclair-Boonton line, was scheduled to depart at 6:10 p.m. At about 6:20 p.m., wheels on one of its cars came off the track, New Jersey Transit said. It said that the train was carrying between 900 and 1,000 passengers but that none of them were riding in the car that derailed and that nobody was injured.
One rider on the derailed train said passengers were herded toward the back of the train from the front two cars, but were being held inside while New York City firefighters climbed aboard to investigate.
Sandra Greenberg, a Matawan, N.J., resident who said she has been dealing with New Jersey Transit delays for 23 years, was among the horde of unhappy commuters.
“There’s always constant issues and there doesn’t seem to be resolutions to correct the issues,” she said, listing delays, overcrowding and decaying infrastructure as major issues with the system. “As a commuter and a taxpayer, it’s very frustrating.”
Soma Reo, who works in information technology, said his 10-year-old son was going to miss his soccer practice because Mr. Reo’s train to Metropark in New Jersey was delayed. Mr. Reo, a regular commuter through Penn Station, said the constant service disruptions were disappointing given the price of train tickets.
“Nobody is taking action on the delays,” he said. “Though they say sorry, we aren’t seeing improvements.”
Danielle Rye, 24, was sitting on her suitcase in Penn Station’s main terminal as she watched the departure board fill up with delays. Her train to Rhinecliff, N.Y., had already been delayed an hour and had not been rescheduled.
Ms. Rye said she was headed upstate to canvass for Diane Neal, an independent candidate for Congress.
“This is crazy,” Ms. Rye said, worried that she would not have a ride from the train station once she arrived. “We’re just waiting. It could be hours from now. It’s just really inconvenient.”
New Jersey Transit, the nation’s second-busiest commuter railroad, has been plagued by delays and canceled trains in recent months caused by a shortage of engineers and a push to meet a federally mandated deadline to install a computerized braking system.New Jersey Transit, the nation’s second-busiest commuter railroad, has been plagued by delays and canceled trains in recent months caused by a shortage of engineers and a push to meet a federally mandated deadline to install a computerized braking system.
Penn Station, which is owned and operated by Amtrak, has had its own share of problems. Two derailments last year led Amtrak to close off some tracks and rebuild them, causing disruptions that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo labeled a “summer of hell.”
Amtrak officials said last month that they had completed more track repairs at the station this summer and that they expected service to run more smoothly. Two weeks ago, a New Jersey Transit train passing through one of the tunnels on its way to Penn Station became tangled in overhead wires and had a metal bar slice through its roof. The cause of that damage, which caused no injuries, is still being investigated.