NJ Transit train service to NY suspended again in brutal week for commuters

UPDATE: Service resumed at about 10:30 a.m., albeit 45 minutes late, NJ Transit said.

An already bad week for NJ Transit riders got even worse Friday morning as service to and from New York Penn Station was again suspended due to overhead line problems.

Midtown Direct trains are rerouted to Hoboken. Train tickets can be used on NJ Transit buses and private bus companies. PATH also accepts tickets at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken, and 33rd Street in New York.

NJ Transit announced the suspension just before 7:40 a.m. on the day the state is expected to experience another very hot day during a week-long heat wave.

The suspension came just hours after service resumed Thursday evening following a multi-acre wildfire that broke out in the afternoon and evening in Secaucus, not far from the New Jersey Turnpike and NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor line.

On Thursday, operations were suspended for more than two hours.

Two service disruptions occurred on Tuesday. NJ Transit blamed Amtrak, which owns and operates the tracks along the busy Northeast Corridor between Trenton and New York, for the latest disruptions on Friday.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) at 8:24 a.m., Amtrak blamed a stranded commuter train in New York for the service disruption. Amtrak service between Philadelphia and New York is not expected to be restored until around noon and delays of at least 60 minutes are to be expected, Amtrak said.

Earlier this week, Amtrak warned that high temperatures could lead to slower train speeds and 60-minute delays.

This is consistent with what an expert told NJ Advance Media in an interview about the impacts of extreme weather. The region is in the midst of an extreme heat wave with super-hot temperatures.

“Excessive heat is permeating every part of the rail system,” said Bryan Sooter, director of standards for the American Public Transit Association. “It’s an unusual weather event that’s affecting every part of operations, not just the mechanical and engineering, but the human factor as well.”

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NJ Advance Media writer Larry Higgs contributed to this report.

Jeff Goldman can be reached at [email protected]