NJ TRANSIT Chief: Weather, Infrastructure To Blame For Downed Power Lines
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- NJ TRANSIT's executive director says infrastructure must be rebuilt to prevent problems such as Tuesday night's incident in which live power wires fell on top of a train.
The train left about 1,000 passengers stranded for nearly two hours on cars without power or heat during an extremely frigid night.
"It was not a pleasant situation for either the people on the train or the crew," NJ TRANSIT executive director Jim Weinstein told WCBS 880's Levon Putney on Wednesday.
NJ TRANSIT Chief: Weather, Infrastructure To Blame For Downed Power Line
The westbound train had departed from Newark Penn Station on the Northeast Corridor at around 6:15 p.m. when it hit some power wires, a video clip showed. The train immediately came to a halt.
"The weather didn't help, but (the lines) came down," Weinstein said. "Basically had a hot wire laying on the train."
While Amtrak, which manages the infrastructure at the site, confirmed the power lines had been loosened by the frigid temperatures, Weinstein said old infrastructure was also to blame. But upgrades would be expensive and take time, he added.
"Some of those wires go back decades, and it needs to be refurbished and replenished and rebuilt," Weinstein said.
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