Friday NJ Transit delays after train derails

NEWARK — A bad week for NJ Transit continues with the continuing cleanup and investigation of a "slow-speed minor derailment" on Thursday night.

Commuters started Friday morning with 30-minute delays in and out of New York's Penn Station with cross honoring ended.

Midtown Direct Line trains resumed service beginning with the Morris & Essex train No. 6602, the 5:44 a.m. arrival, and Montclair-Boonton train No. 6200, the 5:32am arrival.

NJ Transit said one set of wheels on and empty car derailed on Montclair-Boonton Line train No. 6279 a.m. bound for Montclair State University after it left the station at 6:20 p.m. but before it entered the Hudson River Tunnel. No injuries were reported to the approximately 900 to 1000 customers or crew on board.

Rider Latief Murphy told CBS New York there was a shaking movement before the derailment.

"You could feel the actual car derailing off the rails," Murphy said.

Riders also said that the speaker system at the station, which is operated and maintained by Amtrak, did not work well with a buzzing noise during announcements.

Most every other train was delayed for at least two hours, leaving thousands waiting on platforms and on trains that weren't going anywhere. PATH stations were overwhelmed by commuters who used it as an alternate to leave New York.

"I live in Middlesex County. After waiting for updates at Penn for an hour and a half I walked to the PATH. They said the trains wouldn’t get me to Middlesex County, so I’d be stuck in Newark. I waked to Penn and the line for the bus at gate 417 was a football field long. Waited an hour and got on a bus. Home by 10," Michael Close of North Brunswick told New Jersey 101.5 via Twitter.

"These issues do not happen in other cities. The infrastructure or system just isn’t working," Close said.

Amtrak, which maintains the rails, and NJ Transit, have not yet returned messages.

Several trains were canceled on Friday morning as well.

Cancelled trains for Friday morning:

Montclair-Boonton

• 6:45 a.m. from Montclair State (#6206) due to equipment availability

Northeast Corridor:

• 6:08 a.m. from Jersey Avenue (#3704) due to equipment availability

North Jersey Coast Line

• 5:40 a.m. from Bay Head (#3318) due to equipment availability

Share your experiences from NJ Transit and the road and be part of our Commuter Panel. Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ