NJ Transit alters afternoon commute after ‘slow speed’ derailment

NEWARK — NJ Transit has altered its schedule out of NY Penn Station for the Monday afternoon commute following a "slow speed derailment."

Service resumed on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line with possible 30-minute delays and some trains canceled or their usual service changed for the afternoon commute. Normal schedules are scheduled to resume after 7 p.m.  with some adjustments.

Changes for the afternoon commute include (subject to change)

• Three Northeast Corridor trains are canceled (3595, 3949 and 3959)
• 2600-series North Jersey Coast Line trains from Hoboken will make all local stops to Long Branch

Raritan Valley Line service will begin and end at Newark Penn Station while MidTown Direct service will operate in/out of Hoboken.

Cross-honoring will continue system-wide among NJ Transit buses, private carriers and PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken and 33rd Street in New York, as well as the New York Waterway.

1,200 passengers and crew were on board NJ Transit #3926 that left Trenton at 7:30 a.m. and was involved in a “slow speed derailment” on track #9 around 9 a.m. injuring four people, according to NJ Transit. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

State Sen. Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, said today's derailment and the one two weeks ago in which an Amtrak train sideswiped an NJ Transit train are examples of why the Gateway Tunnel project should be a top priority among legislators.

“NJ Transit riders cannot afford any more major disruptions that put their safety and their job security at risk,” Kean said in a statement.

Funding for the project, however, is at risk in President Donald Trump's proposed budget. Only projects that have already been fully funded would continue to be funded

Funding for the Gateway project has been approved and is in the New Starts “pipeline,” but the funding has not yet been contracted out. The federal government had agreed to pick up half of the cost of the $20 billion project.  Amtrak was to add another $35 million to expedite environmental reviews and the permit process.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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