Signal issues, more wire problems caused long NJ Transit delays

Signal issues and more wire problems for NJ Transit led to this morning's 60-minute delays on the Northeast Corridor. This marks the second problematic commute in a row.

The transit agency tweeted a 45-minute delay on the Northeast Corridor between Trenton and New York Penn Station shortly around 6 a.m., a delay which grew to 60 minutes due to Amtrak signal problems. Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz says a signal problem in the Princeton area "forced trains to operate at restricted speed for approximately 15 miles."

Adding to Schulz, the problem was a circuit breaker west of the Hudson River, which restricted the number of trains that could operate in the tunnels.

Normal service resumed around 9 a.m. according to an NJ Transit tweet, but 30-minute delays still showed on their website until 10 a.m.

Only DeCamp buses cross-honored NJ Transit passes and tickets.

"It was unusual that NJ Transit didn't announce cross-honoring with their buses or PATH trains," said New Jersey Traffic North's Bob Williams, who says that is almost always standard procedure when long delays occur.

Williams was also surprised that there were no reported delays on the North Jersey Coast Line, which joins the Northeast Corridor north of Rahway station.

A spokesperson for NJ Transit will not be available for comment until Tuesday afternoon.

Commuters, meanwhile, were frustrated by a second commute with long delays, trains  that became express or local or were outright canceled, a lack of air conditioning on some trains and a perceived lack of communication from NJ Transit.

"Thanks for ALWAYS being on time @NJTRANSIT, such a trustworthy form of transportation," tweeted commuter @oliveaROD.

Commuter @margotime tweeted  "a commute that usually takes under an hour door to door took me 2.5 hours this morning. So thanks, @NJTRANSIT."

A train that got stuck in the Hudson River tunnel because of overhead wire problems on Monday night caused 60-minute delays for much of the evening.