NJ Transit, Amtrak, LIRR Delays Abound At Penn; Train Stuck In Tunnel For Hours (UPDATES)

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — NJ Transit, Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road commuters heading in and out of Penn Station were subjected to extensive delays during the Friday evening commute, thanks to a power outage a Hudson River train tunnel that ended up trapping one train inside the tunnel for more than two hours. (For updates on the situation at Penn and other local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for Patch's daily newsletters and breaking news alerts in your NYC neighborhood.)

Around 1,200 passengers were trapped in the tunnel from around 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Some of them live-tweeted the terrifying experience as it unfolded (see below). City paramedics said they treated six of the train's passengers for non-life-threatening injuries once it finally pulled into Penn Station.

Then, on top of everything else, a shooting scare at Penn around 6:30 p.m. caused "mass hysteria" and a "mini stampede" among delayed commuters.

Various NJ Transit lines were still seeing delays of up to two hours as of 8 p.m. Friday, officials said online. Long Island Rail Road officials likewise warned of "some cancellations and delays" in and out of Penn.

A bunch of Amtrak lines were delayed as well. This was the situation as of 6:30 p.m., according to an Amtrak spokesperson:

Northeast Corridor service is delayed between New York and New Jersey due to overhead power issues on the west side of New York Penn Station. A disabled train in the area has been moved and Amtrak engineering forces are currently working to restore power in the south tube of the Hudson Tunnel. Trains to/from New York Penn Station will be single tracking through the north tube. Customers should expect delays between New York and Newark, NJ until power is restored.

Around 9 p.m., Amtrak tweeted a short update: "Train delays continue. We are working to restore scheduled service."

NJ Transit officials blamed the entire situation on Amtrak, as Amtrak owns and operates much of the rail infrastructure on which NJ Transit trains run — including the Hudson River tunnel where things went haywire Friday. In particular, it was an "overhead power problem" in the tunnel that caused the train to get stuck, according to NJ Transit.

One woman trapped in the train live-tweeted the chaos.

A few others tweeted through the nightmare as well:

Finally, hours after the ordeal began, passengers wrote on social media that the train had started to move. And just after 6 p.m., they pulled into Penn Station at last:

An NJ Transit spokeswoman said Amtrak was in charge of getting the train moving again and ensuring passengers' safety. Amtrak did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what measures they were taking to remedy the situation.

It's been a rough few weeks for both train companies. Last week, an NJ Transit train derailed on its way into Penn Station, injuring five passengers and causing a ripple effect of delays and service problems across the system. And the week before that, an Amtrak train side-swiped an NJ Transit train near Penn — effectively shutting down the station for the day.

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.

Images via ★ميا★/Twitter