A fire at Penn Station that disrupted train services for two days was caused by a metal “skirt board” that fell from one of Amtrak’s new Acela trains and struck the electric third rail. Laura Mason, Amtrak’s executive vice president of capital delivery, confirmed the incident happened in a crucial area called the “C Interlock,” affecting numerous trains, including those of Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and New Jersey Transit.
Mason noted that the fire required power to be shut off to the surrounding neighborhood and resulted in hundreds of canceled LIRR trains and the suspension of New Jersey Transit’s Midtown Direct service. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported.
This incident exacerbated an ongoing conflict between Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which has restricted Amtrak’s testing of new trains on certain tracks due to previous damage to overhead power lines. Mason clarified that the fallen panel was unrelated to prior issues with overhead cables.
Service interruptions were further complicated by Amtrak’s repairs to two East River tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, leaving only three tunnels operational. LIRR President Rob Free and MTA Chairman Jano Lieber have urged Amtrak to limit repair work to nights and weekends to minimize commuter disruptions, similar to strategies used for L train repairs.
Mason defended Amtrak’s construction methods, saying they are necessary to ensure a longer service life for the tunnels, and criticized Lieber’s political approach to the issue, emphasizing the importance of engineering solutions.
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