Demanding Answers: NJ Transit Riders See Red After 'Madhouse' At Penn Station; Sources Say Miscommunication Made Situation Worse
SECAUCUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – From the city to the suburbs, commuters are facing long delays and unecessary obstacles.
Power problems disable two New Jersey Transit trains and left some riders stuck on board for hours.
"We were held in limbo between Secaucus and the entrance to the tunnel there," one rider said.
Those long delays on NJ TRANSIT stretched into the early hours this morning. One commuter called it the worst he has experienced in 20 years.
What happened last night? We apologize to everyone affected by last night's service disruption, and we want to share with you some details on what happened. pic.twitter.com/N4HT2ycYxB
— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) February 4, 2020
Our region is dependent on two tunnels into and out of NYC, which is like a superhighway suddenly reduced to two lanes. Because there are only two tunnels, capacity drops by 75% when one is out of service, which makes recovery from delays more difficult and lengthy.
— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) February 4, 2020
Sources say the power problems that are being blamed were apparently made worse by miscommunication.
CBS2's Meg Baker demanded answers.
Riders were left stranded and angry on the rush home last night, first told trains would be delayed 30 minutes, which quickly turned into more than two hours.
"There were probably 50,000 people in Penn Station just jammed in together. There was no place to go," said commuter Andy Fately.
It turned into mayhem: People jumping over turnstiles to escape and take the PATH train. Others were trapped on trains for more than four hours.
Amtrak says safety measures delayed repairs and because all of the train traffic during the evening rush, the track was not fully cleared for repairs until 10:21 p.m. Monday night.
Power was restored with typical operations resuming at around 12:40 a.m.
Matthew Lloyd was heading into the city surrounded by Rangers fans. It was standing room only.
"6:07 we leave Secaucus. By 9:09 we're held in limbo. From that point we sat there for about 40 minutes," Lloyd said.
Frustrated by a lack of communication, Lloyd called 911 himself. They put him in touch with a NJ TRANSIT dispatcher, who he says though their train was already parked in a train yard.
"It's a failure on multiple agencies' parts, and the only victims are the people I ride with every day, and the individuals who are riding in their to see a sporting event, who are now out hundreds of dollars," Lloyd said.
NJ TRANSIT says the problem was caused by an Amtrak power outage just outside the south tunnel under the Hudson that left trains disabled. Each approaching train then had to back up to either Secaucus, Hoboken or to where it could switch lanes and go into the north tunnel. With only one functioning tube, they had to alternate, dropping capacity by 75%, and stacking up waiting passenger.
Transit expert Martin Robins bemoans NJ TRANSIT sharing with Amtrak.
"And the responsibility is divided, and therefore it makes communications more difficult, more complicated," Robins said.
A source told CBS2's Meg Baker the underlying problem Monday night was caused by personnel issues: Management held back communications, hoping for a quick fix before having to tell customers how bad the issue was.
Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the problem, but would not take questions.
"I believe it was Amtrak's fault but the lack of proactive aggressive communication on NJ TRANSIT is unacceptable. If folks are frustrated and angry, I don't blame them. So am I," Murphy said.
No solution was mentioned.
Amtrak says safety measures delayed repairs and because all of the train traffic during the evening rush, the track was not fully cleared for repairs until 10:21 p.m. Monday.
Power was restored with typical operations resuming at around 12:40 a.m.
NJ TRANSIT issued an apology by tweeting out a video.