Philadelphia

Downed wires suspend NJ Transit, Amtrak trains at 30th Street Station

NJ Transit trains between Cherry Hill to 30th Street Station and Amtrak trains between Philly to New York City both saw suspensions slowing travel on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, one of the busiest travel days of the year

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Travelers hoping to head to Cherry Hill, New Jersey or New York City from William H. Gray III 30th Street on Sunday morning saw their travel times stretched out a bit as the train lines were suspended early in the day.

On Sunday morning, at about 3:30 a.m., NJ Transit officials announced that, due to "downed Amtrak overhead wires" near 30th Street station, train service in both directions between Cherry Hill and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station would be suspended.

NJ Transit officials said that rail tickets for this line were being honored by PATCO and a substitute bus service was being provided between Cherry Hill and Philadelphia.

Sunday night, officials announced the Atlantic City Rail Line service had resumed in both directions between Cherry Hill and Philadelphia 30th Street.

By Monday morning, service delays continued on SEPTA's Trenton line, a SEPTA spokesperson said. The Paoli/Thorndale line was suspended for some time Monday morning, but that was due to downed wires near the Strafford Station.

Also, just before 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Amtrak too alerted riders that service would be shutdown for sometime due to downed wires.

Initially, Amtrak told riders that trains could start moving again by 9 a.m., but, in an update, that time was pushed back until about noon on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024.

Then around 1:30 p.m., Amtrak officials said they had "restored two of the four tracks to regular service between New York Penn Station (NYP) and Philadelphia 30th St William Gray Station (PHL), allowing train movement."

The officials also said the trains were operating on the available tracks at reduced speeds.

"We are doing our best to move trains in time table order in hopes of minimizing delays. This incident has impacted trains operating from Washington Union Station (WAS) to Boston South Station (BOS). Customers traveling along the Northeast Corridor should expect delays of at least 30 minutes to 60 minutes. We will update you when the service is fully restored. We appreciate your patience," officials said in a statement.

Amtrak issues continued Monday morning "due to signal issues," Amtrak said.

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