By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Wednesday it had restored service after it was forced to temporarily suspend all train service between New York and Washington due to overhead power issues in Philadelphia, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of riders.
Amtrak said the suspension was because of downed overhead wires blocking the tracks and trains in service were held at a station until service resumed. Amtrak has faced several major service disruptions in the last six months in New Jersey.
Amtrak said it had restored single-track service and said riders should still expect delays of at least 30 minutes as crews continued to work to fully restore service in the area.
Amtrak and NJ Transit said in August they had increased examination, inspection and maintenance activities aimed at preventing disruptions. About 12 million passengers traveled in 2023 between Washington and Boston yearly on Amtrak.
Amtrak transports about five times as many passengers between New York and Washington as airlines.
Separately, Amtrak said service had resumed between New York Penn Station and New Haven, Connecticut after a fire east of Penn Station on Tuesday had halted trains.