Delays on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Trigger Huge Lines, Crowds at Penn Station

Delays on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor have caused massive crowd and long lines to form at New York Penn Station.

The rail service announced around 3 p.m. Monday that all trains in the Trenton area were being held due to a fire on an Amtrak work train near Hamilton Station. Shortly after 4 p.m., NJ Transit announced that all Northeast Corridor traffic between Penn Station and Trenton would be suspended.

About an hour and a half later, just before 6 p.m., service on the line resumed with delays up to 90 minutes. Amtrak said all train traffic holds were lifted and trains would be begin moving in the order which they were scheduled.

The transit authority said customers on the Northeast line could use NJ Coast Line service between Penn Station and Rahway, and customers traveling west of that destination should find alternative transportation.

Rail tickets and passes would be honored by Coach USA from Port Authority Bus Terminal to New Brunswick and Princeton, as well as private carrier and NJ Transit buses.

Photos from the scene of the fire showed a work train near the Hamilton station with tall plumes of black smoke billowing up in the air, and flames coming out from sides of one of the cars.

There were no reports of injuries. Crews were looking to put out the fire as of 5 p.m.

As for commuters going to Penn Station trying to get home at rush hour, photos showed big crowds both at the 7th and 8th Avenue sides. The horde of people at the NJ Transit side was so large, getting through the lobby to the train platforms seemed like a daunting task.

Crowds on the 8th Avenue side seemed just as packed into that station, with customers left waiting and watcing the departure monitors to see if their trains would be delayed.