Why Does This Montclair-Boonton Line Train Keep Getting Cancelled?

BOONTON, NJ — Why does the 5:30 p.m. Montclair-Boonton line train out of New York keep getting cancelled? Frustrations are mounting among customers who say their train home from Manhattan has been cancelled with little or no explanation frequently over the past two weeks.

A New Jersey Transit Twitter account that announces changes on the Montclair-Boonton line has announced cancellations for the 5:30 p.m. train four days in the past two weeks (Oct. 16, 13, 10, 6 all saw the train cancelled).

Frustrated riders who usually take the 5:30 p.m. train, which ends at Montclair State University, have been forced to wait for the next train 40 minutes later, and face a more crowded ride home.

A spokesperson told Patch the cancellations are due to mechanical and staffing issues, but those issues will be addressed as the annual schedule review happens.

Riders have complained about the lack of transparency when it comes to the cancellations. Generally, riders waiting in New York Penn Station find out their train is cancelled by watching the electronic boards that list track numbers and warn about delays. They'll then flock to Twitter to find more information-- or in this case, demand answers.

So is this scheduled train officially discontinued? It hasn't run but once in the past 10 days.
— BShanahan (@ShanahanBrett) October 16, 2017

The cancellations come on the heels of Amtrak's "summer of hell" repairs, which prevented any Midtown direct trains from reaching Manhattan. Instead, commuters had to transfer to either a bus, ferry or PATH train in Hoboken.

Have you been affected by the cancellations? We want to hear from you. Email Katie.Kausch@Patch.com.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images