NJ Transit suffers meltdown during evening rush hour amid extreme heat
Officials urge NJ Transit commuters to find alternate ways home
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The second straight day of extreme heat crippled NJ Transit on Thursday, turning the evening rush hour into a commuter nightmare for travelers attempting to get home.
The transit meltdown was so bad, NJ Transit officials urged its rail customers to find other ways to get home, if possible, cross-honoring on NJ Transit or private carrier buses, PATH, or even NY Waterway ferries, as electric trains were slowed by the heat.
"What we want people to do is use all the methods we are making available...to try and use all of those systems to get home," NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri. "It's the most excessive temperatures we have had this year."
Commuter frustrations boil over
In the scorching, record-breaking heat, commuters were packed like sardines with no AC at New York Penn Station, which hit 148 degrees inside, according to NJ Transit.
"It feels like a sauna in here. I hate it. I hate it," said a commuter named Cammy. "There's like a million people, look, a million people. The body heat in here is crazy. I'm wet right now."
One commuter even told Eyewitness News she's moving to the city just to avoid NJ Transit altogether.
"I'm literally moving out of New Jersey to avoid New Jersey Transit. I'm moving to New York City next month," said a commuter named Natalie.
NJ Transit disruptions, Hoboken station fire
But for commuters, that was just the appetizer. The main course was the massive train cancellations and delays of an hour to 90 minutes.
At one point, sagging wires temporarily stopped two trains during the commute. In one instance, a rescue train was deployed to Harrison to get about 300 customers back to Hoboken Terminal. It took about 45 minutes to tow the disabled train back to Hoboken. During that time, the air conditioning was on, and police were distributing water on the train.
Meanwhile, the Hackensack Drawbridge, a century-old bridge that crosses the Hackensack River between Secaucus and East Rutherford, got stuck open for 25 minutes because of the heat, causing delays. NJ Transit decided not to open any more rail bridges for the rest of Thursday's commute as a result.
The extreme heat even sparked a fire at the Hoboken station after 5 p.m., sending some riders running from the platform. NewsCopter 7 was over the scene where smoke was seen on track 7.
NJ Transit Latest Update
NJ TRANSIT rail service is subject to up to 60-minute delays and cancellations of select trains due to the impact on the equipment, related to the extreme temperatures. Midtown Direct service continues to be diverted to Hoboken. NJ TRANSIT rail tickets and passes are being cross honored on NJ TRANSIT and private carrier buses and PATH, at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken Terminal, and 33rd Street, New York and NY Waterway Ferry.
Customers should visit njtransit.com/ABC for available alternate service information.
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