Penn power debacle
‘Rescue’ train stalls
It was all aboard for the “summer of hell” at Penn Station on Saturday.
Amtrak and NJ Transit service was suspended and delayed at different timeses on Saturday af-ternoon when three trains — including a “rescue train” — stalled due to a power outage,, officials said.
It began at 11:41 a.m. when thee Silver Meteor train from Miamii to New York stalled just west of Penn Station.
The train’s 165 passengers sat tight for an hour while Amtrak sent a “rescue train” to tow the disabled train into the station.
But the electric-powered rescue train also stalled due to “overhead power issues.”
Amtrak then sent a dual electric-diesel locomotive to tow both trains to safety.
Three other Amtrak trains — two arriving from Washington, and one headed there — were delayed up to 35 minutes each.
Power was restored at 1:04 p.m., and train service resumed at 1:22, spokesman Mike Tolbert said.
But the electric system repairs didn’t stick. A bit more than three hours later, at 4:35 p.m., an NJ Transit train stalled in the same spot where the Silver Meteor stalled, Tolbert said. The NJ Transit train was towed in at 5:05 p.m.
“We’re investigating what caused the power outage,” Tolbert said.
Riders threw up their hands. “It’s super frustrating,” Rachel Chaplin of New London, Conn., said of her 20 minute-plus delay. “I own a business in Connecticut and my time to get back is precise.”
But for much of the day, trains ran on time.
“Don’t say that too loud,” an NJ Transit worker warned. “You don’t want to jinx it.”
Massive schedule changes are in effect at Penn Station this summer so Amtrak can repair the station’s tracks and switches.