Amtrak Back On Track

MYFOXNY.COM - Amtrak has resolved power problems that halted trains and stranded commuters and holiday travelers in and out of New York City on Wednesday morning and says most trains are running on schedule.

Service was suspended between Newark and New York on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Midtown Direct lines for approximately three hours.  The outage affected service as far south as Washington, D.C., and as far north as Boston.

Amtrak says delays are expected to persist at least through late afternoon.

NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel says a low voltage problem was to blame.  It occurred in North Bergen, N.J., where trains go under the Hudson River en route to Manhattan.

Some trains were stranded just outside Penn Station and others were stuck between Newark and New York City.

PATH trains and Port Authority buses are honoring NJ Transit rail passes. 

At Penn Station in New York City, travelers packed a waiting area, sitting on suitcases with bags of holiday gifts scattered around them on the floor. A display board showed grim news for every train.

Lyn Hunt and four family members had been traveling since Saturday -- or trying to. Their trip to Newark from England had to be rerouted through Chicago because of the snowstorm that swept up the East Coast over the weekend.

The family then traveled by Amtrak from Chicago to New York, only to be delayed again Wednesday as they tried to take a train north.

"We've decided that our motto is adapt, improvise and overcome," Hunt said. "We don't know yet how we will adapt or overcome this."

Her answer came just before noon when an announcement crackled over the loudspeaker that power had been restored and trains would begin rolling again.

At Washington's Union Station, at least one train was announced as canceled and some passengers said they were told by Amtrak personnel that the problems were related to cold weather.

Nicole West-Burns, who was getting off a southbound train, said Amtrak told her and other passengers getting on in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning that the doors were frozen shut.