As autumn brings the slippery-leaf-syndrome to Metro-North commuters, the rails of New Jersey Transit are plagued by a related trouble from the trees–overhead wire damage.
Troubles on the Gladstone line made a mess of Thursday morning’s commute, as folks shuttled bus and shlepped their way to the Summit station to catch any trains to Hoboken or NYC.
High winds and fallen branches out near Peapack were reportedly to blame for the slow commute and standing-room only train, but sharing a platform with two uniformed machine-gun packing men from the sheriff’s department and a helicoptor circling overhead made me feel safe–I often worry about attacking branches.
And as of 2:30 p.m., the wire repair work is not complete–and several evening Midtown Direct trains have been cancelled, with service shuffled to other trains heading west. Looks like I’m heading to Hoboken to dodge the crowds.
Updates at www.njtransit.com. Normal service is expected to be restored by 4:30 a.m. Friday.
–JerseyJimÂ