Pole Crashes Through Train As NJ Transit Messes Reach New Level

People coming home at 8 a.m. after dealing with 8 hours of delays. Trains canceled without warning, leaving commuters stranded at stations. More than 20 trains canceled in one day.

Perhaps nothing was worse – symbolically, at least – than when a pole came crashing through a train on Friday night, shutting down trains for hours and scaring many commuters who expressed their grief on social media. Some evening commuters didn't home that night until 6 a.m.

No one was injured, but many were lucky they weren't.

NJ Transit Executive Director Kevin Corbett apologized for the incident, saying the agency remains in close contact with Amtrak as part of the ongoing investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident.

The pole incident, however, was just yet another mishap that's plagued NJ Transit in what some have called "the summer of hell 2," following last year's problems that were largely caused by system improvements.

This summer, there have been fewer excuses such as that.

NJ Transit officials say they have had an unusual number of engineer absences as well as a number of mechanical issues in recent months. Gov. Phil Murphy himself has criticized the Christie administration for not doing enough to alleviate the problems on the plagued system, although he later admitted that he may have initially underestimated the problems himself.

Some lawmakers, however, aren't having it, and they've called on the state Legislature to continue to hold hearings on the nightmares facing commuters as they linger on an on.

“There are some tough questions that demand answers from NJ Transit,” Anthony Bucco, R0Morris. “Trains have been canceled and delayed without warning, leaving commuters stranded at stations. Until now, all we have heard from NJ Transit has been one excuse after another while problems have continued to pile up.”

“Commuters don’t know how they are going to get to work, or when they will get home. We’re going to get them some answers,” Bucco said.

Bucco noted that, on one August day, 17 trains on six different lines were cancelled, piling onto an announcement that the Raritan Valley Line to New York will close and the Atlantic City Line will be suspended for four months.

“Last year was supposed to be the summer of hell, but somehow this year is so much worse,” said Nancy Munoz, R-Union, whose district is serviced by the Raritan Valley Line. “There has to be better options than cancelling trains at the last minute or shutting down lines altogether. Commuters depend on NJ Transit to fulfill its commitments and provide adequate service. This is not just an inconvenience for commuters; it can upend their entire life.”

The pole incident on Friday night happened around 11:32 p.m, when NJ Transit train 3886, which was heading toward Penn Station New York, reported losing power in the South Tube, the agency said.

The crew reported that there was wire down in the tunnel and a "piece of the structure which connects the train to the overhead power line punctured the roof of the eighth car of the train."

None of the approximately 1,100 customers on board were injured, the agency said.

At 12:17 a.m. an LIRR rescue train was dispatched with Amtrak Police and New York firefighters on board. The rescue train arrived at the disabled train in approximately 10 minutes, the agency said.

At 12:51 a.m., all customers had transferred to the rescue train. Members of the FDNY searched the disabled train to ensure all customers had exited.

At 1:14 a.m., the rescue train arrived where it was met by MTA police. "We want to acknowledge the well-coordinated response by NJ Transit and our regional partners at Amtrak, LIRR and the first responders who executed the rescue effort for which we plan and prepare," NJ Transit said.

That wasn't the only problem that night.

At approximately the same time as the initial incident, NJ Transit train 3297, heading west from Penn Station toward Bay Head in the North Tube, reported losing power. Power was quickly restored in the North Tube and the train continued west. But the crew reported that, as they exited the tunnel, they lost power again and struck an object that was hanging in the overhead wire.

At that time, the train stopped, the agency said.

A diesel locomotive was dispatched from Newark to rescue the train with approximately 500 customers on board. There were no reports of injured passengers on the train, the agency said.

To allow the locomotive to connect to the train, Amtrak crews had to first remove the damaged wire. At 1:46 a.m., the locomotive connected to the train and proceeded to Secaucus. Customers then boarded another train to continue their trip.

NJ Transit service resumed in and out of New York at approximately 9 a.m. this morning following the required safety inspections by Amtrak personnel.

The agency encourages all customers impacted by this service disruption to contact our Customer Service department using the Contact Us form on the web by clicking HERE, visiting a Customer Service field office or by calling us at 973-275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. daily.

Photo courtesy of Beckie Bintrim (@BeckieBintrim)