Delays Persist After NJ TRANSIT Train Derails Near New York Penn Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- NJ TRANSIT service was suspended into and out of New York Penn Station for almost two hours Thursday evening following a 'slow speed derailment' near the transit hub.
The agency says Montclair-Boonton Line train 6279 experienced a minor, slow-speed derailment shortly after departing Penn Station at 6:10 p.m. The train had not yet entered the Hudson River Tunnel when one set of wheels on one car derailed, according to NJ TRANSIT.
No injuries were reported to the roughly 900 to 1,000 people who were on board the train, including customers and crew, at the time. Passengers tell CBS2 they were stuck on the train for hours with nobody telling them what was going on.
"Just overhearing the crew on the walkie talkies, you understood that it derailed but no one ever said that," commuter Crystal Rogers said.
"Nobody knew what happened," commuter Latief Murphy said. "Everyone was scared, I mean one person had a panic attack."
Midtown Direct Line service was diverted to Hoboken Terminal, and PATH was cross honoring NJ TRANSIT tickets an passes at Herald Square, Newark Penn Station, and Hoboken to accommodate commuters.
NJ TRANSIT and privately operated buses were also cross honoring rail tickets and passes in response to the derailment.
Amtrak says rail traffic into Penn Station resumed shortly before 8 p.m., but customers should expect hour-long delays through the evening as crews worked to restore full service, inspect the infrastructure, and make any necessary repairs.
Many riders were angry at NJ TRANSIT, and called on Governor Phil Murphy to take immediate action.
"He's called it a crisis, if there's a crisis somebody does something about a crisis," Montclair resident Chris Millan said. "He hasn't done anything, I challenge him to take the train one day a week for the next month and he can see what happens."
It wasn't immediately known what, if any, impact the repairs would have on the Friday morning commute.
Stick with CBSNewYork for more on this developing story.
