Amtrak, NJ Transit service resumes at Penn Station after train car fire
A train car fire that erupted early Friday morning ended up disrupting NJ Transit and Amtrak service at Penn Station all day.
The overnight fire grew into a major commuter headache for thousands of people trying to get in and out of New York City.
Service reduced through weekend
Amtrak and NJ Transit service resumed with delays and cancellations, but an Amtrak spokesperson said service will be reduced until Monday morning.
"Amtrak apologizes for the inconvenience and is providing rebooking opportunities and refunds while it works to return to scheduled service levels," Amtrak said in a statement.
NJ Transit said trains were back to running on or close to schedule overnight Friday.
Long Island Rail Road trains were also restored.
5 injured in train car fire
Transportation officials said the fire was reported just after 1:30 a.m. on an Amtrak work train car in one of the Hudson River tunnels. The incident escalated to a second alarm response nearly an hour later.
One of the riders said there was some sort of explosion as the train traveled through the area of the fire, which was already burning.
"The train began to shake, and then the lights went out, and the train stalled a few moments afterwards," he said. "I don't know why they would go through the fire. It's kind of ridiculous."
Video from the scene showed a massive response. More than 140 fire and EMS personnel were called in.
An Amtrak official said a maintenance vehicle caught fire and had a minor collision. The fire caused "significant damage," he said.
Two people suffered serious injuries and were rushed to the hospital. Three others refused medical attention, according to officials. The five people injured were all rail workers, according to the FDNY.
"I'm grateful to the brave firefighters and EMS members who responded quickly to extinguish this train fire and protect New Yorkers in a moment of danger," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media. "Let's keep those who were injured in our thoughts and wish them a swift, full recovery."
MTA CEO, Gov. Hochul slam Amtrak
MTA CEO Janno Lieber said they were already one tunnel short because of Amtrak's decision to shut down a portion of the Northeast Corridor, which is under construction.
"We have to start recognizing that this is an unacceptable situation. This is the third time in a row in a matter of a couple of weeks that we have knocked out Penn Station," he said.
Lieber said the MTA received hundreds of complaints Friday morning. He urged Amtrak to figure out how to continue repairs on the tunnel on weekends and nights to limit disruptions to commuters.
"This summer, there is a lot going on in New York. We got the U.S. Open golf tournament. We have the World Cup, needless to say. We have the Knicks going on," Lieber said. "We have everyday commuters, over 200,000 of them, trying to get in and out of the city of New York, so this cannot keep going on."
"Fires. Trains striking debris. Amtrak incidents in Penn Station's tunnels harm our entire regional transit system. For over a year, I've been demanding a plan from Amtrak to complete repairs without hurting commuters. Riders deserve better than a summer of delays and excuses," Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on social media.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker also called the incident "unacceptable and extremely frustrating."
"My team is in touch with NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak about the incident and return to service. I'm thinking of the 5 injured in the fire and grateful the damage was not worse. I'll continue to fight for a safe and more efficient Northeast Corridor," he wrote on social media.
"Since this was in North River Tunnel, it has nothing to do with the East River Tunnel and our rehabilitation plan," Amtrak Vice President Gerhard Williams said. "The issue is also not connected to an infrastructure concern. Our infrastructure is safe."
