Amtrak maintenance work slows afternoon NJ Transit commute

TRENTON — Amtrak track work will impact the Thursday afternoon commute for NJ Transit riders.

Maintenance work by Amtrak on railroad ties caused 30-minute delays in both directions between New Brunswick and Trenton. The work is expected to continue into at least the start of the afternoon commute, according to Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams.

NJ Transit said in a message on its Twitter account that eastbound trains heading for New York will bypass Hamilton and Princeton Junction, forcing riders to change direction in New Brunswick.

It's the second day in a row the Northeast Corridor has had problems.

An Amtrak Keytone Service headed for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, struck a 54-year-old man near the New Brunswick station on Wednesday morning, shutting down the tracks for about 45 minutes. NJ Transit Police, which handled the investigation, identified the man as Venugopal Menon, of East Brunswick.

NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith said an investigation continued into the incident to determine why he was on the tracks.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ