A fire on an Amtrak work train in the West Side Rail Yard near Penn Station snarled Friday morning commutes, forcing NJ Transit and Amtrak to suspend service after firefighters battled heavy smoke and heat just west of the station. Five workers were injured, including two who were seriously hurt, after the blaze broke out on Track 11 and spread into the rail yard.
Firefighters were called to a heavy emergency response around 1:30 a.m. near 10th Avenue and 31st Street after an engine fire on Track 11 produced a thick cloud of black smoke. By Friday morning, the fire had led to a second alarm response as crews worked in what fire officials described as a dangerous scene with high heat, smoke, tripping hazards and electrical hazards.
Michael Barvels said firefighters used an emergency exit to get to the blaze because going through Penn Station itself would have made the hose line far more difficult to stretch. He also described the conditions underground as intensely hazardous, but said the crews were trained for the job. Three of the five injured workers refused medical attention, while the other two were treated for smoke inhalation.
The disruption hit one of the busiest transit points in the region. Penn Station is a major commuter hub used by NJ Transit, Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, and the fire in the rail yard just west of the station quickly forced schedule changes across several lines. NJ Transit diverted Midtown Direct service to Hoboken, while rail tickets and passes were being cross-honored by NJ Transit and private carrier bus and PATH at Newark Penn Station, Hoboken and 33rd Street in New York.
Amtrak expected service to remain suspended until noon, and NJ Transit service was also shut down after the blaze. LIRR service resumed around 5:45 a.m., but westbound trains on the Babylon, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Port Washington, Ronkonkoma and West Hempstead branches were still showing delays and cancellations around 6:15 a.m. Trains on the Montauk and Oyster Bay branches were rerouted to Long Island City, including the 6:15 a.m. train from Speonk to Penn Station and the 7:16 a.m. train from Oyster Bay to Penn Station.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Supplementary reporting said the disruption followed track and signal maintenance after the fire was extinguished, underscoring how a blaze that started in the middle of the night could keep rippling through the region’s transit network well into the morning.
