NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on delays at New York’s Penn Station caused by a derailment Monday (all times local):
6:45 p.m.
Amtrak says it hopes to restore full rail service to New York’s Penn Station by Friday, four days after a second derailment in less than two weeks.
Monday’s derailment of an inbound New Jersey Transit commuter train damaged switches, signals and rails at a spot in the station where two tracks emerge from the tunnel and diverge to a total of 21 tracks inside the station.
Eight of the 21 tracks have been unusable this week.
A March 24 derailment believed to be unrelated to Monday’s occurred when an outbound Amtrak train went off the rails and scraped against an inbound New Jersey Transit train.
No serious injuries were reported in either incident.
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5 p.m.
The heads of the two major commuter rail lines that use New York’s Penn Station have strongly criticized Amtrak over two recent derailments there.
Rail service has been cut back since Monday morning’s derailment took out eight of 21 tracks maintained by Amtrak, affecting hundreds of thousands of commuters.
No cause has been released.
The directors of the agencies that run the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit say Amtrak needs to do more to maintain its infrastructure.
Acting Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Fernando Ferrer called the problems “unacceptable.” NJ Transit Executive Director Steve Santoro said Amtrak needs to “step up to the plate.”
An Amtrak spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
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4:20 p.m.
Rail service in New Jersey still isn’t back to normal levels more than two days after a train derailed in New York’s Penn Station.
New Jersey Transit says its heavily traveled Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines will operate on a holiday schedule Wednesday evening with some extra trains added. Some other trains will originate in Hoboken.
The transit agency has scheduled a 4 p.m. news conference.
The Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak are operating on reduced schedules.
Monday morning’s derailment on tracks owned by Amtrak knocked out eight of 21 tracks in Penn Station. It was the second derailment at Penn Station in less than two weeks. Both created headaches for commuters and highlighted the state of the region’s aging infrastructure, but no one was seriously injured.
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9:15 a .m.
Train passengers are facing delays while repairs continue days after a commuter train derailment inside New York City’s Penn Station.
New Jersey Transit is adding additional service during peak hours, but its trains are operating on a holiday schedule Wednesday. Buses and New York Waterway ferries are honoring NJ Transit’s rail tickets.
The Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak are operating on reduced schedules.
Monday’s derailment of a NJ train knocked out service to eight of 21 tracks. Crews for track owner Amtrak have been working to repair the damage and it may take until Thursday before regular schedules resume.
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