New Jersey, New York train travel faces persistent delays

June 21 (UPI) — Snarled passenger train travel along the busy Northeast Corridor Thursday evening still affected some rail travel on Friday morning, officials said.

Amtrak was forced to cancel some of its passenger routes on the corridor, the busiest passenger rail traffic in the country, because of the delays. NJ Transit passenger rail traffic appeared to bounce back after early slowdowns to maintain its schedule.

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Officials said a brush fire in Secaucus, N.J., and overhead wiring issues, which started to affect trains coming into and out of New York City, were to blame for Friday’s commuter headaches that started Thursday evening.

Trains from Philadelphia to New Haven, Conn., were affected on Thursday.

Amtrak said that sweltering temperatures, which appeared to peak on Thursday, would force the train company to travel at slower speeds, causing further delays. A new heat advisory had been issued for New York City for noon with temperatures reaching 97 degrees.

Some passengers were still fuming over Tuesday night delays, which caused commuters to run behind for more than an hour in New Jersey. The problems come as the state is poised to increase fees starting July 1.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called the NJ Transit and Amtrack delays “unacceptable.”

“It feels like both Amtrak and NJ Transit had issues,” Murphy told NJ Spotlight News. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of that. It used to be the lack of manpower. That’s not the issue today.”