NJ Transit delays today: What to know as summer 2024 approaches

High heat comes with transit problems

It was a chaotic scene at Penn Station on Tuesday afternoon in NYC after NJ Transit suffered heavy delays – right in the middle of rush hour. With the high heat this summer, will delays continue? FOX 5 NY's Lissette Nuñez has the story.

NEW YORK CITY - It was a chaotic scene at Penn Station on Tuesday afternoon in NYC after New Jersey Transit suffered heavy delays – right in the middle of the rush hour.

Officials blamed disruptions on overhead wires and extreme heat, but this summer, will service issues be limited to just NJ Transit?

NJ Transit delays Penn Station

Rail service in and out of Penn Station caused major delays and cancelations yesterday after Amtrak reported overhead wire problems, as well as a disabled train.

NJ Transit service disruptions continue

NJ Transit commuters have faced another day of disruptions and delays, with the coming summer heat wave potentially making things even worse.

"It’s soul-sucking every time you hear that there’s Amtrak problems," said NJ Transit President and CEO, Kevin Corbett.

This follows several weeks of delays for both Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, causing all travel in the area to be temporarily stopped as crews worked to resolve the issue. Several riders have taken to X (formally Twitter), to voice their frustration.

"This is happening seemingly every day now. It’s completely unacceptable from the major public transportation arm in and out of NYC," one commuter wrote.

Could heat impact summer service?

The MTA is also warning commuters that the heat could strain the subway system and cause it to buckle.

"We've also taken the precautions in the event there are other outages," said NYC Transit Interim President, Demetrius Crichlow. "If for some reason we start having brownouts and blackouts within the city, we have generators on standby with emergency crews ready to respond."