WASHINGTON D.C. (AP)-- Limited Amtrak service from Washington to Philadelphia has been restored after a freight train knocked down overhead wires on the tracks.

 

An Amtrak crew works on repairing downed wires in Maryland
An Amtrak crew works on repairing downed wires in Maryland (Amtrak)
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Amtrak suspended service on the Acela Express and on the Northeast Regional lines early Tuesday morning. The company had said later in the morning that limited service had been restored, but later corrected that to say it still was suspended.

Tweets from Amtrak report single-track service is being provided on the track through the area north of Aberdeen, Maryland where repairs continue.  Commuters should expect delays which could continue on Wednesday.

The Northeast Regional takes passengers from Washington to Philadelphia, while the Acela Express provides service to Wilmington, Delaware, which is on the way to Philadelphia.

Service was still running between Wilmington and Philadelphia, and points north.

Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods did not immediately know how many passengers were affected but said that the company's Northeast Corridor, which stretches from D.C. to Boston, is the busiest railroad in North America, with more than 2,200 trains operating each day.

Woods said engineers were working to fix the problem as quickly and safely as possible. She had no estimate for full service restoration.

Jonathan Schleifer, whose Amtrak train from D.C. home to New York was canceled Tuesday, said he didn't know about the problem until he got to Washington's Union Station.

"I've gotten so accustomed to Amtrak being so remarkably reliable that I don't even check online to see if the trains are running," Schleifer said. "I took it for granted today and was unpleasantly surprised when I got there."

Paulette Austrich, a Maryland Area Regional Commuter spokeswoman, said the downed lines canceled service Tuesday at its Perryville and Aberdeen stations.

Austrich said those stations service a combined 400 people who park there, and that those commuters drove to nearby stations to catch their trains.

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