NJ Transit Delays ‘Until Further Notice’ After New Problem Found This Week

NEW YORK — Tuesday marked a third straight day of significant delays for NJ Transit riders.

Forty-five-minute delays developed late in the morning commute in and out of New York Penn Station due to a disabled Amtrak train, according to NJ Transit, which was also cross-honoring across all platforms and with PATH.

Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert said a disabled train blocking several tracks on the west side of Penn Station led to single tracking for a time. The train recovered and scheduled operations have resumed.

NJ Transit put cross-honoring into effect across all trains, light rail, buses and PATH.

Amtrak, which maintains and operates the Northeast Corridor facilities, and NJ Transit warned of additional delays because of ongoing track inspections and maintenance at New York Penn Station.

NJ Transit said riders can expect 15-minute delays on weekdays and 30-minute weekend delays in and out of New York Penn Station until further notice because of the maintenance as some tracks may be taken out of service "from time to time." NJ Transit apologized for the inconvenience.

"We're doing the best to provide guidance to our customers so they can plan accordingly," NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said.

A problem discovered during an inspection Monday at track No. 7 at Penn Station New York caused delays for much of the day.

"Amtrak engineering forces are working on the concrete foundation a 120-foot section of Track 7. This work will take several days due to the type of machinery being used and the tight confines of the work area. We apologize to our riders for any delays occasioned by this work," Tolbert said in a statement.

It's the latest in a series of problems on the Northeast Corridor, which also affects the Long Island Railroad, which is considering filing a lawsuit against Amtrak, according to News 12 Long Island.

Mitch Pally, a member of the MTA board, which operates the New York City subway, took a swipe at NJ Transit and Amtrak.

"We are forced to share some of our facilities with two other entities who have clearly shown in the last couple of weeks that they can't maintain their facilities," she told News 12.

A disabled NJ Transit train with 1,200 passengers caused delays on Good Friday, the same day a Taser gun fired by Amtrak police caused a stampede of passengers who thought they had heard a gunshot.