Hundreds of Amtrak riders were stuck in a Hudson River tunnel Friday night when the roof of a NJ Transit train was punctured by a pole and struck by falling wires.
A second New Jersey-bound train ran into a metal object west of the North Tube of the tunnel and was taken out of service, according to NJ Transit spokeswoman Lisa Torbic.
It’s unclear if the metal debris were related to the falling wires, or what caused the wires to fall. Torbic said the incident is “an ongoing investigation.”
About 1,000 passengers in the two trains were transferred to rescue trains. EMS treated one female passenger for back pain, Torbic said.
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders were facing delays of 30 minutes or more as of Saturday morning as a result of the accident.
“A window broke and part of the upper side of the train was punctured,” said passenger Beckie Bintrim, who ws in the first disabled NJ Transit train was headed from Secaucus to Penn Station. A pole punched through the roof of the train two cars behind her, Bintrim told The Post.
“We saw a bunch of sparks through the window and then some loud noises, more sparks,” Bintrim said. “Then when the car was punctured we knew something was wrong and moved to the other side of the train. In that moment I thought the train was going to derail and we were all scared.”
The train came to a halt, and passengers could see smoke outside the cars. The electricity also went out, and a backup generator kept the lights on, Bintrim added.
Bintrim said she waited about an hour for a rescue train that took her and other passengers to Penn Station.
NJ Transit trains in and out of Penn Station were initially suspended early Saturday morning “due to Amtrak overhead wires issues,” the agency tweeted.
Power was restored to one track in Penn Station, and trains began moving again around 8:30 a.m., Amtrak Tweeted Saturday. A second track was still out-of-service.
PATH is allowing passengers with NJ Transit rail passes and tickets to ride for free at the Newark, World Trade Center, Hoboken and Journal Square stations. NJ Transit buses and private bus carriers are also cross-honoring tickets, Torbic said.
