Right at the height of morning rush, commuters were stopped dead in their tracks when an overhead wire came down on a tree. The reason is still under investigation and the affect was huge delays.
"I'm just trying to get out of the cold," one commuter said.
The problems began around 6:30 this morning when downed power lines stopped a New Jersey Transit train as it got close to Newark.
"We spent about two hours just sitting outside of Newark," another commuter said.
The wire trouble lead to hour delays in both directions for 30 trains along the Northeast Corridor, New Jersey coastline and Raritan Valley lines.
The train schedule is back to normal, but there may still be some residual delays. Visit NJTransit.com for the latest updates.
Anthony Johnson monitored the PATH trouble this morning.
The Port Authority says the problems had nothing to do with the weather. However, there were two-hour delays and it seemed like for some critical commuting hours this morning, this system was suffering a meltdown.
Long lines, waiting and frigid temperatures greeted PATH customers at the Hoboken terminal.
The shutdown forced many to stand in the cold as they waited for buses and repairs to be completed.
"I don't know if I can feel my toes anymore," one commuter said while waiting.
Port Authority officials say the first fire erupted around 7:30 this morning. When they tried to restart the system after putting out the fire, they say another fire broke out in the cables. It took until nearly 10 a.m. to fix the lines and restore service.
Then, just before 11 this morning a third fire erupted in maintenance shop, forcing the service to shut down once again.
The Port Authority says they don't expect any more problems at the PATH station in Hoboken.
