NEW YORK (WABC) — A train derailment on New Jersey Transit on Tuesday morning suspended service for hours and continued to have a ripple effect for the evening commute.
Train 3926 originated in Trenton and was packed to the doors by the time it derailed shortly before 9 a.m. Service was suspended until almost 11:30 a.m.
Firefighters rushed down into the tunnels, prepared to rescue riders who might have been trapped. But the train was moving at no more than 15 miles per hour.
The derailment happened in a spot where the trains couldn’t get through the tunnel and into NYC, so all service from New Jersey into New York Penn had to be suspended.
That set off a chain reaction of delays across the railroad while railworkers spent the afternoon struggling to repair the damage in time for the evening rush.
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No injuries were reported to the approximately 1,500 customers or crew on board.
One passenger told Eyewitness News that they were in good spirits and trying to make the best of it. They even worked together to make sure a pregnant lady was comfortable.
Another passenger said she gave up her seat to a woman who was having a panic attack.
“Most of us tried to remain calm, but many of the people that were standing were starting to get very uncomfortable,” passenger Joan Szurku said. “The air and the lights were going on and off. The conductors kept telling us to keep moving back, but yet there was no room and there was a little panic. There was a person I had to give my seat up to who had a panic attack and started crying.”
Many passengers were grateful there were no injuries, but said they had to cancel work meetings or change plans.
“I guess if you’re going to be in a derailment-low speed, no injuries, no fatalities is the one to be in, so we’re grateful for that, you know?” another passenger said.
NJ Transit rail tickets and passes were cross honored by PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken, and 33rd St-NY, and NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers.
RELATED | 1,600 feet of track obliterated during LIRR derailment in Queens
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