NJ Transit delays continue between Newark, NYC's Penn Station after overhead wire damage
Thousands of NJ Transit riders may be facing a tough commute home Friday after an overhead wire issue near the Portal Bridge caused major delays and confusion during the peak morning rush to New York City.
The problem forced NJ Transit and Amtrak trains to stop completely between Newark Penn Station and New York at around 6 a.m. While the suspension only lasted about an hour, there have been extensive residual delays since service was restored.
Transit officials blamed the delays on damaged overhead wire infrastructure near the Portal Bridge. NJ Transit trains rely on Amtrak's overhead wires for power on the Northeast Corridor.
There was no timeline on when the delays would subside. When asked for an update on repairs, an Amtrak official told CBS News New York they're "still working on it."
Earlier, there was confusion at Newark Penn Station, where riders could be seen running from one platform to another just to hop on a train that wasn't moving any time soon.
"That train I usually catch going to Trenton is coming from New York," commuter Yasif Sim said. "Get your act together, New Jersey Transit."
In the meantime, NJ Transit rail tickets and passes were being cross-honored by NJ Transit buses at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken and 33rd Street in New York City. For more information on travel alternatives, click here.
New Portal North Bridge set to open
In an unexpected twist, some trains were diverted onto the new Portal North Bridge just days before it was supposed to open to train traffic. Kolluri said it was purposely done to bypass the problem spot.
"Thank God we had the bridge ready to go this morning because Amtrak called us at 4 o'clock this morning saying there was a catenary pole near the old Portal Bridge that had to be repaired. So we were able to get service, limited service, up and running on the brand new bridge two days ahead of schedule," Kolluri said. "So thank God for that, even though it's Friday the 13th."
Will overhead wires continue to cause problems?
NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri told CBS News New York it wasn't their fault.
"The challenge is [Amtrak has] a 100-year-old infrastructure, and we've asked them to make sure they focus on repairing this, and they have. One of the reasons why the new Portal Bridge is so important is we have new wires and a new bridge. They have to do that now through the entire corridor, so our commuters, NJ Transit commuters, don't have the same problem every single day," Kolluri said.
Kolluri said Amtrak is addressing the issue.
"At approximately 5:45 a.m., we began operating trains over the new Portal North Bridge early to allow for train travel to resume after a few catenary poles on the old Portal Bridge were found to be leaning impacting trains service. The cause of this still to be determined," Amtrak said in a statement. "We are currently working with our partners at NJ Transit to make the necessary catenary pole repairs on the old Portal Bridge. We apologize to both of our customers for the inconvenience, which just goes to show the importance of the new bridge and not having to rely on 116-year-old infrastructure."
Thursday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill took a ceremonial first train ride across the new span.
"New Jersey is the state that built the nation, but we need to continue to update New Jersey, and we've fallen short a little bit. And right now it's great to get back into the business of updating our rail system," Sherrill said.
Commuters have been waiting for years for the new Portal North Bridge to open, and, for the past month, have been coping with additional service disruptions as crews worked around the clock to connect the new bridge to the rail network.
