Crime & Safety

NJ Transit: Penn Station Delays Will Continue Indefinitely

Wake up earlier? Eat breakfast faster? How do you plan to create the extra 15 minutes it will take to travel through NY Penn Station?

Morning commuters can expect to cut their AM routines a little short. Evening commuters can expect to get home a little bit later. But in the end, any NJ Transit commuter passing through New York Penn Station will end up sacrificing an extra 15 minutes per weekday trip due to ongoing Amtrak maintenance work and track inspections, officials say.

On Monday, NJ Transit officials announced that “effective immediately and continuing until further notice”, its customers traveling to and from New York Penn Station will experience estimated delays of 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minute delays on the weekends.

As a result, some tracks also may be taken out-of-service from time to time causing further delays, the agency added.

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“This is in addition to delays that may occur as the result of weekend programmed maintenance elsewhere on the Northeast Corridor, as well as the North Jersey Coast Line and Morris & Essex Lines,” NJ Transit officials stated.

Customers were encouraged to “plan ahead, give themselves extra travel time and take note of alternative transportation options” such as NJ Transit buses, private carrier buses and the Port Authority PATH train system.

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Riders seeking further information can call NJ Transit customer service at (973) 275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., the agency stated.

Amtrak posted its own statement about the ongoing delays on Tuesday morning:

“Customers may experience delays between New York and New Jersey due to ongoing track inspections and maintenance at New York Penn Station. We apologize to customers for any delays as a result of this work.”

The announcements about the delays come after multiple recent derailments at the station, as well as ongoing track maintenance issues including "disabled trains."

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