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NEW YORK (AP) — Commuters to both New Jersey and Long Island faced a difficult journey home Friday evening after two passenger trains clipped each other during the morning rush at Penn Station, jolting riders and creating major travel disruptions but causing no serious injuries.
The accident involved an Amtrak Acela Express train headed from Boston to Washington that partially derailed as it slowly pulled out of the station at around 9 a.m.
As it listed, it scraped the side of a New Jersey Transit train that was coming into the station, the busiest in the U.S., officials said.
New Jersey Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said the agency would operate limited outbound service from New York on Friday evening because of reduced track capacity. Snyder said NJ Transit won't be able to use 11 of its regular tracks and would instead share tracks with Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road. The LIRR warned its riders to expect cancellations and delays, especially from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Service on NJ Transit's Midtown Direct Line will operate in and out of Hoboken.
NJ Transit tickets will be cross-honored on PATH rail service, NY Waterway ferries and both NJ Transit and private bus service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Snyder said.
The collision occurred at a spot just short of the platforms where inbound evening trains often pause to let outbound trains pass by due to track congestion.
Passenger Jordan Geary posted on Twitter that the impact blew out his window. Photos posted on social media by several passengers showed dents, scrapes and some twisted metal on the side of one train.
Amtrak said all its 248 passengers got off safely. The Fire Department of New York said no serious injuries were reported.
Penn Station is targeted for expansion under an ambitious, $20 billion-plus plan that also would build a new tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York and make other improvements to increase capacity.
The existing 110-year-old tunnel operates at peak capacity during rush-hour periods. It is a frequent chokepoint for hundreds of thousands of travelers who ride Amtrak or commuter trains between Washington and Boston daily.
Supporters of the project have expressed concern that President Donald Trump's recently proposed federal budget could delay or derail it by changing how federal grants are awarded.
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