NJ Transit riders hit with another Northeast Corridor nightmare after tunnel fire

🔥An Amtrak maintenance train fire shut down Northeast Corridor service early Friday

🔥The fire damaged overhead infrastructure and wires in the Hudson River tunnel

🔥Service was restored early Friday afternoon

An Amtrak work train fire shut down the Northeast Corridor for NJ Transit riders early Friday morning.

The fire broke out on the maintenance vehicle around 1 a.m. in one of the Hudson River tunnels, forcing a suspension of service in both directions between Newark and New York. The fire also caused overhead and infrastructure damage, according to NJ Transit, and filled Penn Station New York with thick black smoke.

NJ Transit CEO/President Kris Kolluri told New Jersey 101.5's Bill Spadea that the crew was repairing a piece of concrete that had fallen at the time.

Service was restored around 1 p.m. with 30 minute delays, according to NJ Transit

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NJ Transit riders face detours and cross-honoring Friday morning

Five members of the maintenance crew were injured, including two seriously, the FDNY told CBS New York. More than 140 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene.

NJ Transit rail tickets & passes are being cross-honored by NJ Transit and private carrier bus, and PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken & 33rd Street, New York.

MTA chair and CEP Janno Lieber blamed Amtrak for the closure calling its infrastructure "broken" and its upper management in disarray.

"I don't know who's running Amtrak at this point. The CEO was pushed out. The president of Amtrak has resigned. They've announced that they're going to have their chief lawyer run the operation. When you see impacts like we are seeing in New York right now, you say 'What is going on at Amtrak?' We need some assurance that this isn't going to keep happening again and again and again, setting the tracks on fire," Lieber said.

The suspension comes just over two weeks before the start of World Cup soccer at MetLife Stadium. NJ Transit will transport 40,000 riders to each of the eight matches over the course of a month.

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